Naruto: Rise of the Espers
by Nataku's Wrath
Summary: An unholy and unstoppable army, led by a creature stronger than the Kyuubi, rises from beyond the Elemental Nations. Naruto must embark alone to find the power to hold back the forces of darkness. Naruto X Final Fantasy. Pairings undecided
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy.

This is my first attempt at Naruto fanfiction. If I make any mistakes regarding honorifics or character names, jutsu, places, etc, please let me know and I will fix it. Enjoy.

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**Naruto: Rise of the Espers**

**Chapter I**

**The End is the Beginning**

_Some things are older than time. Some things reach back into the Nether, the void in which all the universe was created. Some things have always been and always will be…_

_The Kyuubi No Yoko (Nine-Tailed Fox) was not from the Nether, but was too old for counting. Kyuubi was a Biju, a force of nature. It was said that force from one of her tails could cause hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. _

_Men believed the Biju to be pure chakra in physical form. For generations, men tried to find ways to harness, to tame, the power of the Biju and turn them into weapons. One man found a way..._

_There was a tall mountain range that ran in between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound. The mountains ended at a river that served as the border between the two nations. _

_On the Sound side of the river stood the former head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara. His long black hair hung in large spikes over his face. He wore red plate armor over his chest and shoulders, a black shirt with long sleeves underneath, and shinobi pants. Open toed sandals covered his feet. A curved katana hung from his belt._

_On the Fire side stood Senju Hashirama, head of the Senju clan and the Shodai Hokage of Konoha. Like Madara, he was dressed in red plate armor, shinobi pants, and open toed sandals. Unlike Madara, he wore a Konoha hitai-ite on his forehead._

"_This has been a long time coming Madara!" he shouted across the river. "It's time you paid for your betrayal!"_

"_You arrogant Senju," growled Madara. His head was hung low against his chest, hiding his face. "You still hold yourself higher than the rest of us. But in thirty seconds, you'll be begging for my forgiveness," laughed Madara. He picked his head up and Hashirama let out an involuntary gasp when he saw Madara's eyes. _

_A black ring with three circular holes in it swirled around his pupils. It was different from the normal Sharingan Hashirama had seen before._

"_Impressed by my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?" cooed Madara, brushing his long hair out of his face so Hashirama could see them better. "I have held it back for a long time. You see, when I first developed the Mangekyo, I over used it and went blind. I was cast into a world of never ending darkness. But after my brother was kind enough to"— Madara paused to search for the right word—"donate his eyes, I combined the two Sharingan to unlock powers you can only dream of. And the darkness never came again."_

"_Well, do you have anything else in your bag of tricks?" taunted Hashirama as he settled into his favorite taijustu stance. "You never could beat me before. Nothing you can do now can change that."_

_Madara gave the Shodai Hokage a sinister grin. "I beg to differ. Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Kyuubi No Yoko (Summoning Jutsu: Nine Tailed Fox)!"_

_An enormous cloud of smoke burst above the valley and Hashirama grew frighteningly pale as Kyuubi landed in front of Madara. The demon fox was gigantic; it would have stood high above the Hokage Tower in Konoha. Its red-orange fur bristled and its red eyes burned with unfathomable rage._

_Hashirama felt his knees tremble at the awesome sight. "How...how is this possible?"_

"_Behold the full power of my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!" Madara shouted over Kyuubi's heavy growls. "I have full control of the most powerful Biju in existence! And into the Kyuubi I have poured all my malice and hatred. You have no chance of defeating us both."_

_Kyuubi slammed all nine tails into the ground, destroying a large part of the river bank. The river swelled and churned from the onslaught of chakra pouring off the Biju._

"_This is going to be interesting," muttered Hashirama as he looked down at the devastation. He made a series of handseals and leapt into battle…_

**MANY YEARS LATER**

The battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had gone down in legend. The valley between Fire Country and Sound Country was renamed the Valley of the End. The mountains on either side of the river were shaped into statues of Madara and Hashirama by the finest artists and Doton Shinobi.

Two shinobi boys waited on either side of the river, standing on the statues' heads. Uchiha Sasuke stood upon the head of his predecessor's statue, his body twisted by the evil chakra of the _Ten no Juin (_Cursed Seal of Heaven). His once normal skin had turned a dark grey. His black hair had grown longer, though it somehow had kept its style, and turned bright white. The Konoha hitai-ite around his forehead hung on by a thread. His fingernails were ragged claws and a star shaped black mark appeared along his nose. A pair of wings flapped on his back. The wings had no feathers, but were made of dark colored flesh. The pinions looked like a pair of gigantic hands with thin skin stretching in-between the fingers. Dozens of smaller, vestigial-looking fingers sprung out from here and there on the wings like elongated scales. It was a gruesome and powerful sight.

Across the river Sasuke's former teammate Uzumaki Naruto stood on Senju Hashirama's head. Dressed in his trademark orange clothes and Konoha hitai-ite, the blonde was surrounded by a whirlwind of red chakra. His nails and canine teeth were elongated into claws and fangs. His normally blue eyes were a savage red; his pupils were thin slits of blackness. The red chakra swirling around him slowed and settled over Naruto like a cloak. A pair of fox-like ears formed from chakra as well as a single bushy tail.

"This is the perfect setting, isn't it Naruto?" asked Sasuke. His voice was different from before. It was deeper and something buried in his voice hissed from behind his teeth. "The perfect place for our battle to end."

Naruto couldn't produce words amidst his feral rage. He let out a savage growl in answer.

"Dobe beast," smirked Sasuke. His hands flashed through the Ox, Rabbit, and Monkey handseals. An enormous amount of cursed chakra flooded into Sasuke's left arm and gathered in his palm. Bolts of black lightning danced across his fingertips. The sound of a thousand birds taking flight filled the valley.

Across the river, Naruto held out his clawed hand. Chakra gathered in his palm, condensing and swirling it into an. It burst into a self-sustaining ball of pure chakra force. The ball glowed blue in its center with a purple tint around its edges. The fox cloak swirled around the ball, strengthening it and making it even larger.

Naruto and Sasuke ran atop their statues and leapt into the air. Sasuke's fleshy wings flapped up and down, propelling him faster through the air. Small flecks of Naruto's fox cloak fell from his tail, leaving a blood red trail of chakra behind him as he flew over the river. Both boys thrust their attacks ahead of them and cried out the names of their attacks.

"CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!"

The two attacks slammed into each other and created a shockwave of conflicting chakra. The wave of chakra surrounded the two boys, each side fighting for dominance. The surrounding ball of chakra expanded, tearing into the statues and parting the river.

**-X-**

Hatake Kakashi leapt from tree to tree, following his Ninken Pakkun. It had been easy for Pakkun to find the trial Shikramaru's team had taken through the forest. Many sections of the forest had been destroyed by the battles against the Sound Four. He stopped on a tree branch when he felt an explosion of chakra more powerful than anything he had felt since Kyuubi No Yoko attacked Konoha. It paralyzed him with fear and he nearly fell from the tree branch.

"That chakra, it's…it's impossible!" Kakashi gasped.

"What—what was that?" asked Pakkun. His normally smooth and soft fur (he did shampoo it with Minty Rain Forest Mist Shampoo with extra body after all) stood up on end, the tips shaking from fear.

"I don't know Pakkun," Kakashi admitted, "but it's the most terrible chakra I've ever felt. We must hurry."

**-X-**

The chakra sphere slammed into the bottom of the waterfall between the two statues, it destroyed the riverbed and stopped the waterfall.

Naruto and Sasuke struggled to connect their attacks; Naruto's Demon Fox Rasengan was growing dangerously close to Sasuke's forehead while Sasuke's Flapping Chidori inched towards Naruto's chest.

Naruto pushed the Demon Fox Rasengan in his right hand harder, inching closer to Sasuke.

_I can't give up_, he thought. _I promised Sakura I'd bring you back Sasuke and I never go back on my word. That's my nindo, believe it!"_

The Demon Fox Rasengan reached Sasuke's hitai-ite and left a deep gash in the Konoha leaf symbol. At the same time, the black lightning dancing from Sasuke's talons lanced into Naruto's chest. Naruto gagged as blood burst from his mouth and he felt the unbridled power that came with using Kyuubi's chakra leaving him.

The chakra sphere that surrounded them burst in a blast of white light. The light spread throughout the entire valley, it masked Naruto and Sasuke in its iridescence.

When the light faded, Naruto lay on his back, his feral characteristics and fox cloak gone. Blood seeped from his chest as cursed chakra continued to lick at the wound. His breathing was forced and shallow; his skin dangerously pale.

Sasuke stood over him. His cursed seal had receded, stripping him of his wings and enhancements. He looked haggard and drained, but was otherwise uninjured. His dirty and torn clothes and the jagged scratch cutting through his Konoha hitai-ite were the only clues that he was ever in a fight. The ruined hitai-ite's blue band let out a loud rip as the cloth tore and the hitai-ite fell off Sasuke's head and landed on the ground beside Naruto.

Rain began to fall over the Valley of the End. Sasuke lifted his face and let the rain wash over him. It was peaceful, if only for a moment. A powerful spasm of pain, starting from his cursed seal, shot down his left arm. The pain forced Sasuke down to one knee and a series of hacking coughs burned his throat and chest. Blood spat from his mouth and mixed with the rain on the ground.

"That looked like it hurt," a voice said behind Sasuke. Sasuke whirled around as fast as he could and winced as a fresh spasm of pain tore apart his body.

"I wouldn't move around so much," Kabuto said with a friendly smile. "Your body isn't used to handling the power of a Level II Cursed Seal. At a glance, I'd say you'll die from internal bleeding within a few hours if we don't return to Oto immediately. Come along now," he said and helped Sasuke to his feet.

With a gesture, Kabuto and Sasuke flickered away, the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Jutsu) leaving a tinkering of musical notes in their wake.

**-X-**

"Goddamn rain," Kakashi cursed as he leapt off the last of the trees and landed in front of the large mountain chain just outside the Valley of the End. "Have you lost their scent?"

"It's alright!" Pakkun shouted over the rain. "I still have it…" he sniffed the air and smiled as well as a pug can smile. "They're here!" The pair jumped and ran along the mountainside until they reached the statue of Uchiha Madara. Kakashi stopped to survey the damage. Huge chunks of rock had been blasted away, defacing both statues. Pakkun ran ahead as Kakashi searched the tops of the statues.

"Down here," the pug yelled from the river bed beneath the statues. Kakashi whirled around and jumped from the statues. He landed easily on the riverbed and felt his heart sink. Naruto was lying on the wet ground, bloody and beaten. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

"Am I too late?" wondered Kakashi as he knelt down beside Naruto. He immediately recognized the effects of his only original jutsu, the Chidori. _If I hadn't taught him that… _he wondered and hung his head. Pakkun ran around Naruto's head and sniffed the discarded, broken hitai-ite on the ground. "Sasuke's," he reported. "And I smell that snake lackey Kabuto too."

Kakashi reached over and grabbed the hitai-ite. He slipped it into one of the pockets on his Jonin vest before picking up Naruto bridal style. He looked down at Pakkun. "Can you find any trace of Sasuke's trail?"

The small pug shook his head. "The rain washed away any scent or tracks. Besides, saving Naruto is more important than following Sasuke, isn't it?"

"Hmm, oh yes," Kakashi answered, staring off into the distance. "We'd better get back. Naruto needs a medic-nin and soon." He carefully shifted Naruto onto his back and ran out of the valley.

Kakashi and Pakkun ran through the forest, leaping from tree branches where they could, racing across the ground when they had to. Kakashi did his best to keep the trip as smooth as possible for Naruto, afraid that any unnecessary bumping of jostling would aggravate the wound on Naruto's chest.

"Kakashi-san!" shouted a voice from deeper inside the forest. A moment later, three, white robed medic-nin burst into sight in front and on either side of Kakashi.

"What is Uzumaki Naruto's condition?" the one in front asked.

"Where is Uchiha Sasuke?" the medic to the right demanded.

"Naruto has been badly injured," said Kakashi calmly. "He needs to get to the hospital immediately."

"I have specific orders from the Council to make sure that Uchiha Sasuke was not injured during his retrieval. Now, where is Sasuke?" the medic to the right demanded again.

"He's gone!" snapped Kakashi. "Sasuke has gone to join Orochimaru and, because of him, Naruto is dying. Report that to the Council."

The medic-nin grumbled under his breath, but made no further comment towards Kakashi, save for the wrathful look he shot at Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei…" whispered a voice in Kakashi's ear. Even Naruto's voice sounded weak and drained.

"Don't talk Naruto," Kakashi whispered back. "Just rest. We'll be home soon." Kakashi increased his speed through the forest. The medic-nin had a hard time keeping up with him.

"What is the situation with the other Genin?" Kakashi asked.

"The other Genin have already been recovered and are heading for hospital as we speak."

"Their injuries?"

"Team leader Nara Shikamaru has a minor injury," reported the medic to the left. "Inuzuka Kiba has a deep wound, but there is no danger to his life. His Ninken Akumaru suffered severe wounds to his legs."

"Hyuuga Neji and Akimichi Choji are in critical condition," the medic in front reported gravely. "For the moment, their situation is uncertain."

**-X-**

The Konoha Hospital was a marvelous sight. Combining medical jutsu with modern medical science, it was the most famous hospital in all the Elemental Countries. And it was run by the greatest medic-nin to have ever existed. She was known by many names: the Slug Princess, the Legendary Sucker, and Sannin. Her real name was Tsunade and she was the Godaime Hokage of Konoha.

Tsunade ran frantically down the halls of her hospital, her long blonde hair waving in the air behind her. She skidded around a corner and caught the edge of the wall with her elbow. The blow destroyed a large section of the wall, but Tsunade hardly registered the feeling at all.

She quickly reached her destination and slammed open the door to Naruto's operating room. Jiraiya, Shizune, and Kakashi were inside.

"Report!" shouted Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade!" exclaimed the surprised Shizune. "I thought you were finding a way to reverse the effects of the three colored pills on Akimichi Choji!"

"That's done. Nara Shikaku provided me with the Nara pharmaceutical manual. The effects of the three colored pills were well researched and I was able to make an antidote in no time. Choji is already beginning to recover."

"Excellent," cheered Shizune.

"How's Naruto?" asked Tsunade, reaching the boy's bedside.

"The wound isn't healing properly. It's resisting all my medical jutsu."

Tsunade looked at the wound closely. The hole in Naruto's chest was slowly expanding and deepening. She could smell the odor of decaying flesh surrounding the wound and she thought she caught a glimpse of a black flame of chakra eating away at Naruto's flesh.

"Shizune, I need you to go and supervise the healing of Hyuuga Neji. They are using the child's hair as a medium to accelerate the cell growth on his chest."

Shizune nodded and rushed out of the room. Tsunade locked the door behind her and put a sound suppression seal on the room before turning back to Jiraiya and Kakashi.

"What caused this wound?" she asked, although she already had a good idea.

"A Chidori," replied Kakashi. "Sasuke activated his Cursed Seal to a second level and used it to increase the power of his Chidori."

Tsunade glared at Kakashi as he confirmed her suspicions. The amount of killing intent that poured off her paralyzed Kakashi to the spot. "Where is Sasuke?" she asked in a low, threatening voice.

"He was gone by the time I got there," Kakashi gulped. "The rain washed away his trail."

"So you taught an emotionally unstable Genin an A-rank assassination jutsu, blew off the S-class mission I assigned you earlier today, come back with Naruto on death's door, and without the Uchiha," Tsunade growled. Jiraiya slunk back into the corner of the hospital room, knowing all too well what was going to happen next.

"Lady Tsunade, I'm sorr…"

Before the words could leave Kakashi's mouth, Tsunade's chakra enhanced fist smashed into his stomach. Kakashi doubled over, a spurt of blood and spit spilling into his mask. He looked up just in time to see Tsunade's fist, glowing with chakra, fly through the air. The uppercut connected square with Kakashi's chin and sent the Copy Cat ninja crashing into the wall behind him. The wall cracked and split from the impact and Kakashi slumped onto the ground unconscious and broken. Tsunade let out a content sigh and turned back towards Naruto.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Jiraiya, stepping to the other side of Naruto's bed.

"No, but it made me feel better," replied Tsunade. "The fact that Hiruzen-sensei allowed Kakashi to teach Sasuke that technique always bothered me."

"Kakashi thought teaching the technique to Sasuke would satisfy the boy's lust for power."

"Good call," muttered Tsunade as she performed a quick diagnostic jutsu over Naruto. "Sasuke's cursed chakra is corrosive. It's eating away at Naruto's flesh faster than he can regenerate."

Jiraiya quickly, but gently, brushed Tsunade's hands aside and inspected the seal on Naruto's stomach. "Something's wrong with the seal. It's shrinking."

"What do you mean, shrinking?"

"I mean, its shrinking. It's getting smaller," said Jiraiya as he moved out of the way so she could look.

"Do you think the cursed chakra could be affecting Naruto's "tenant" as well?" Tsunade asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure," admitted Jiraiya. "Minato designed the seal to hold the Kyuubi forever. He made it so that the Kyuubi could never escape, even if something should happen to Naruto."

"So if the seal is shrinking…"

"Then the seal senses Naruto is dying and is preparing to destroy the Kyuubi once and for all," Jiraiya replied gravely.

Emotional pain flashed across Tsunade's face and was quickly replaced by a stony look of determination. "He is not going to die. I will not lose another loved one like this!" Her hands glowed pale green as she held them over Naruto's chest. The blood loss began to slow as Tsunade's Shosen No Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique) took effect.

"Damn, this is worst than I thought," she grunted with effort. "The cursed chakra left in the wound is fighting me!"

Jiraiya moved to lend his support when the door buckled and burst open. Hyuuga Hinata fell into the room, her hands glowing pale blue from using Juken strikes on the door. Yamanaka Ino, Tenten, Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, and Haruno Sakura stood in the doorway for a moment before stepping inside. Tenten helped Hinata up as she entered.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Jiraiya as he quickly moved to cut off the Genin. "You can't be in here right now!"

"How's Naruto?" asked Shikamaru. "And what happened to Kakashi-sensei?"

"Kakashi's fine," lied Jiraiya. "He's just tired from the mission. Lady Tsunade is just taking care of Naruto's minor injuries."

Hinata peeked around Jiraiya to look at Naruto. She could see Tsunade's glowing hands hovering over Naruto's chest…Hinata paled and let out a shaky whimper when she saw the gaping wound on Naruto's chest.

"Get out of my way," shouted Sakura, elbowing past Ino and Shino and Jiraiya. "Where's Sasuke?"

Jiraiya and Tsunade stood silent, their heads looking everywhere but at Sakura.

"Where is he?" shouted Sakura. She was still upset that Shikamaru hadn't included her in the mission and was ready to take it out on the first person who got in her way.

"Sakura…" came a hushed whisper from the hospital bed. Naruto's eyes fluttered open and he struggled to lift his head up off the pillow.

"Naruto, don't move!" shouted Tsunade.

"Sakura...I'm sorry…I couldn't bring Sasuke back," whispered Naruto. He opened one eye and smiled as big as he could. "I made a promise…and I always keep my word."

Sakura fell back, her anger replaced by emptiness. "Sasuke-kun…you let him go?"

Naruto tried to sit up and defend his actions when an intense wave of pain shot through his chest. "Gaaaaaahhhh!" he cried and fell back on the hospital bed. Tsunade grabbed onto his shoulders in an effort to hold him down.

"Jiraiya!" she shouted. "Get them outta here!"

"But Lady Tsunade…" Ino started to interject, but was interrupted by another scream of pain from Naruto.

"NOW!" shouted Tsunade. Jiraiya shivered and quickly hurried the young ninja out of the hospital room.

**-X-**

Not able to think of anywhere else to go where they would be alone; Jiraiya took the Genin and single Chunin to Tsunade's office in the Hokage Tower. He stood beside her desk and watched his young charges.

Shikamaru leaned against a window and stared at his bandaged finger instead of watching clouds like he usually did. He avoided looking anyone else in the eye; Jiraiya assumed he was blaming himself for what happened to Naruto.

Hinata had started crying when Jiraiya forced them out of the hospital and hadn't stopped. She sat in a corner, hugging her knees to her chest. Tenten sat beside her, a comforting arm around Hinata's shoulders. She tried everything to get her friend to stop crying, but nothing worked. In the end, Tenten just held her and did her best to comfort the Hyuuga heiress.

Ino sat in a chair near the desk, unsure of what to do. Her Kekkei Genkai made her very empathic and she was having a hard time coping with the amount of sorrow and fear surrounding her.

Shino stood motionless by the door, stoic and unflinching as always.

Sakura paced back and forth in front of the desk, her hands hovered near her mouth as if she was going to bite her nails in anxiety. Watching her pace was giving Jiraiya a headache and he was having a hard time deciding who it was she was concerned for: Naruto or Sasuke? He decided he didn't want to know the truth.

"Will you stop that pacing?" he said calmly. "You're acting like a silly child. This is the life of a Shinobi. You all knew the risk involved when you joined the Academy." He walked over and smiled at Hinata. "Just keep in mind that the greatest medic-nin history has ever known is giving her all to save Naruto."

Hinata looked up at the Toad Sannin, her porcelain face puffy and red from weeping. He smiled warmly at her and she managed to return a tiny smile.

The door opened and Tsunade entered her office. Her skin was pale and her hair and robes were disheveled. Dried blood clung to her slightly shaking hands.

"Is Naruto-kun alright?" Hinata asked, her voice filled with a small shred of hope. Tsunade hung her head and shuffled her feet before answering.

"He's gone," she muttered. "Naruto's dead."

Hinata's smile split and her face cracked into fresh tears. She howled and buried her face into Tenten's shoulder. Tenten rubbed her friends back and did the best to hold back her own tears.

Shikamaru swore under his breath and slammed his fist into the wall, cracking the plaster and his knuckles. He swore again and shook his hand. He looked over at Shino and could have sworn he saw a single tear roll down the insect user's cheek.

Ino slumped in her chair, her emotional barriers falling beneath the waves of sadness she felt. Beside her, Sakura stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around her body.

_My team, my whole team is gone_, she thought. _What am I supposed to do now?_

Tsunade shuffled over to her desk, unable to look anyone in the eye. She slumped down in the chair behind her desk. "I tried every medical technique and jutsu I know. Nothing worked. Maybe if I had been there when it happened…"

"Maybes won't change anything," Jiraiya said somberly and he placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. "You did everything you could for Naruto."

Tsunade placed her hand on top of Jiraiya's and gave it a soft squeeze. Then, silently, she reached into her desk drawer and removed a very large bottle of expensive sake, followed by 8 glasses. She spread out the glasses in a row and poured a generous amount of sake into each one. Jiraiya handed them one to everyone.

"Um, Lady Tsunade, aren't we too young for this?" asked Ino as she hesitantly took her glass.

"Shut up and take the drink," Tsunade said softly and she raised her glass. "To Naruto," she toasted.

"To Naruto," repeated the others and together they threw back their drinks. The young Shinobi had different reactions to the alcohol: Shikamaru enjoyed it and finally understood why his father drank so often, Hinata was too numb to really notice anything, Ino nearly threw up, Tenten felt a warm, invincible flush spread all over her body, and Sakura felt fuzzy numbness in her fingertips.

Tsunade reached for the bottle and began to refill her glass when a wave of killer intent caused her to pause.

"Don't you dare!" shouted Hinata, her sadness replaced with sudden fury. Byakugan activated, she shoved past Tenten and Ino and darted at Tsunade in a blur of speed. With a perfect Juken strike, Hinata shattered the bottle of sake in Tsunade's hand, spattering alcohol all over her face and robes.

_I barely saw her attack coming,_ thought Tsunade, astonished. _How much have you been holding back Hinata?_

"You will not crawl into a bottle, you sad excuse for a Hokage!" Hinata yelled and grabbed the front of Tsunade's robes. "Not while Neji-kun, Kiba-kun, Lee-san, Choji-san, and Gaara-san still need your help in the hospital! Stop being so selfish and help the people of the village like a Hokage is supposed to!"

Hinata raised her hand to strike at Tsunade again. Jiraiya, taken back like everyone else by Hinata's burst of anger, shook his head clear and darted behind her. His fingers danced across a series of pressure points on the back of Hinata's neck. The fury in Hinata's eyes dulled and her Byakugan faded as she went limp and fell forward onto Tsunade's desk. Ino and Tenten immediately jumped forward and caught her before she hit the desk. They fell backwards and Hinata slipped from their grasp. She landed rear first on the floor and let out a loud snore.

"Sorry, Lady Tsunade," apologized Ino as she helped Tenten pick the sleeping Hinata up. "Hinata didn't mean it; she's just upset about Naruto. We all are."

"She meant every word," Tsunade said quietly. "And she was right. Ino, Tenten, take Hinata back to the Hyuuga Compound and stay with her until she wakes up and is feeling better. The rest of you are on dismissed and are on leave until Naruto's funeral." The young ninja nodded before filing out of the office, Ino and Tenten carrying Hinata.

"Are you alright, Tsunade-hime?" asked Jiraiya.

"No, not even close," Tsunade replied. "But like Hinata said, Hokage's don't have the time or luxury for trivial things like mourning a hyper-active, gaki little brother." Tsunade wiped her face with her hands, brushing away he tears. When she dropped her hands, her face was all business.

"Jiraiya, I need you to pull every resource, every spy in your network, every favor someone owes you, and find Sasuke. We can't let Orochimaru get his scaly hands on the Sharingan. And I want to crush that traitor's eyes myself," ordered Tsunade with a snarl, raising a clenched fist. Jiraiya shuddered from the incredible amount of killer intent coming from her.

"I'll, ah, get right on it," he said. "What are you doing to do?"

"Head back to the hospital, check on Neji and Choji."

"I'll come with you. I want to check Minato's seal now that Naruto is…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Tsunade nodded and together they walked, arm in arm, out of the office and Hokage Tower.

The walk to Konoha hospital wasn't a far one, but for Tsunade and Jiraiya, it seemed like miles. They walked silently; they had enough on their minds that they didn't need to waste time speaking about it out loud. At the hospital entrance, the two former teammates separated with a nod of graciousness and headed for separate areas of the hospital. Tsunade went upwards towards the intensive care units, while Jiraiya headed downstairs towards the morgue.

**-X-**

_Naruto's Mindscape_

Typically, the landscape surrounding Kyuubi was disgusting. The dank and dark sewer was hardly an acceptable place to exist, even by prison standards. She thought it was a godforsaken pit. But now the sewer was collapsing and falling to pieces. Chunks of stone fell from the ceiling and walls. Rusty water burst from the leaky pipes and slowly filled the room. The seal on the cage door began to glow an ominous red and the golden cage itself began to shrink. The collapsing sewer and cage could only mean Naruto was dead or dying and it scared Kyuubi.

She stared at the glowing seal and reached out to grab the piece of paper. The seal burned her paw and the cage shrank more. She slammed all nine tails onto the floor and flooded the cage with demonic chakra, hoping to kickstart Naruto's healing abilities. But nothing noticeable happened and the cage began to close in tighter.

Kyuubi huddled into the back of the cage, possible scenarios of what might happen when it collapsed completely. She shivered in fear from the prospect of facing the Shinigami or sheer nothingness.

"C'mon kit!" snarled the Kyuubi. "You've healed from worse hurts than this. Snap out of it!"

For all her shouting and snarling, Kyuubi got no response. The cage shrank more and touched one of her tails. The red fur burned and she let out a painful yip.

"I won't let you drag me to hell with you brat," she growled in desperation and focused her mind and body. "KEIMON…KAI!"

Kyuubi opened the Sixth Gate, the Gate of View, and engulfed the cage with chakra. The red chakra poured off her body like a storm and fought against the shrinking cage. The collapsing cage slowed, but didn't stop.

"You're going to live through this whether you want to or not kit," snarled Kyuubi. "KYOMON…KAI!"

The Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, burst open like a ruptured dam. It opened in an explosion, starting from inside Naruto's deceased body and traveling outwards until its echoes were felt throughout each Elemental Nation and even far, far beyond…

The chakra pushed the cage back to its original size and then continued to expand outward. It slammed into the door of the cage and blew it off its hinges. The giant door fell to one side, the Yondaime's seal still intact and in place on it.

The demonic chakra flowed out of the mindscape and into Naruto's body, igniting his cells and boiling his blood. It traveled through Naruto's veins, burning away the residue of Sasuke's cured chakra, and instantly cauterized the Chidori wound. Once the wound was sealed, it only took a few seconds to heal. The chakra jumped across his neural synapses, heightening his senses and mental capacity. It entered his internal organs and bones, strengthening them and restarting his heart.

Kyuubi collapsed on the cage floor, completely drained of chakra. She had never felt so weak, so helpless before. "Damn, I may have over done it a bit," she muttered. She tried to crawl towards the destroyed door of her cage, but only made it a few inches before her entire body convulsed in pain and she collapsed.

Kyuubi grit her fangy teeth and tried to crawl again. Her right rear leg buckled beneath her and broke with a loud, wet snap. Kyuubi let out a howl of pain and fell forward, knocking her head against the wall of the cage. She landed on the floor hard and lay still. Darkness crept along the edges of her vision as unconsciousness slowly claimed her.

"So close," she whispered, staring at the unhinged door. Her once powerful and feral voice was now nothing but a painful whimper. "So close…" were her last words before the darkness took hold.

**-X-**

Jiraiya stumbled down the stairs leading to the morgue. He landed at the bottom of the stairs, breathing hard, his pulse racing in his chest.

"That chakra…" he gasped as he struggled to his feet. "Kami help us."

Jiraiya ran as fast as he could towards the morgue. When he reached it, he kicked the door off its hinges and rushed into the chilled room. He stood in the doorway, clouds of his breath forming in the cold, and stared at an empty table.

"Kami help us all."

**-X-**

_The Nether_

_A cadre of group of six figures sat in shadow. Each wore a long, blood red cloak that covered the details of their faces and figures._

"_Where you able to trace the source of that chakra spike?" the smallest figure asked._

"_Yes," replied a tired, elderly voice. "The source was located in Konoha, but faded away quickly."_

"_Are you sure this is a wise choice of action?" said a cold voice. "The boy has been through so much already."_

_"The boy is stronger than you think," whispered a edged voice._

"_There is no one else with the ability to survive the trials," replied the little one._

"_If he can survive the trials," growled a rough voice. "No one else could in a thousand years, right big guy?" It looked up at the largest figure and laughed. The figure stood heads above the others, its cloak strained at the seams to cover its massive shoulders. _

"_What makes you think Uzumaki can help us, Ryu-uou?" asked the large one slowly._

_The small figure pulled back his hood to reveal a young boy with cerulean blue eyes. "There is no one else," the boy said sadly. "Uzumaki Naruto is our last hope."_

_

* * *

_

_Author's Notes:_

_Not bad for a first attempt/first chapter. And of course I ended it in a cliffhanger, or double cliffhanger, I'm not really sure. Those who have read my work before know this is pretty typical for me._

_A golden monkey for who can guess the six cloaked figures correctly._

_I hope people like this. I had a fun time writing it and already started on the next chapter. So don't disappoint me and leave me some reviews please._

_Nataku's Wrath  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Naruto: Rise of the Espers**

**Chapter II**

**Arriving and Departing**

The sun was warm on Naruto's face, the slight breeze refreshing. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked away the bright sunshine. He heard birds singing and he sat up to look.

He was on top of the Hokage Mountain, specifically on the Yondaime's forehead.

"How did I get up here?" Naruto wondered out loud and scratched his head. "Wasn't I in the hospital?"

Naruto stood up and shivered. He was naked from the waist up, clad only in his orange pants. He wasn't even wearing his hitai-ite. He wondered where his jacket was, but he remembered that Shizune had taken it when Kakashi-sensei brought him to the hospital.

He brushed some dirt off his bottom and chest. His chest…the Chidori wound! Naruto stared down at where Sasuke thrust the cursed Chidori into his chest. It was healed, completely healed; there wasn't even a scar.

"This is weird," Naruto muttered before he saw his hands. His fingernails had grown into pointed claws, like when he had fought with Sasuke. Naruto looked down at his feet and saw his toenails had grown into claws as well. He ran his tongue along his teeth, gently touching his elongated canines.

"Alright, something funny is going on around here!" Naruto shouted. "What the hell is this?"

When no one answered him (not surprising since he was on top of a mountain after all), Naruto plopped back down on the ground. He could feel the Kyuubi's chakra racing through him, but couldn't sense the fox in his mind.

_Alright, I go from being on the Shinigami's doorstep to being just fine and looking like some kind of monster,_ Naruto thought. _That damn fox has to have something to do with this._

Naruto crossed his legs lotus style and closed his eyes. _Alright, what did Ero-Sennin say about tapping into the fox's chakra…_

**-X-**

The dank sewer inside Naruto's mind that housed the Kyuubi's cage was a complete mess. Naruto walked through the sewer, stepping over broken pipes and craters in the floor.

"How could this place have gotten any worse?" he complained. He jumped over a puddle of rusty water and landed in front of the golden cage.

The cage was destroyed; its door was laying on the ground, the cage walls were buckled and bent outwards, and the surrounding walls and floor of the sewer looked like they had been scorched by a powerful Katon jutsu.

Naruto stood beside the broken door and looked inside the cage. Kyuubi was lying on the floor, stretched out and not moving.

"Hey Fuzzy! Wake up!" Naruto shouted at the fox. "I want some answers here!" But the fox didn't move.

Naruto grumbled and stepped through the cage opening. He kept his eyes on the giant fox as he walked carefully towards it. It never occurred to him that Kyuubi could actually hurt him, but Naruto wasn't exactly comfortable with being in such close proximity to the most powerful Biju to ever exist either.

"You really went all out, didn't you?" he whispered as he stood over the fox's head. He guessed that the fox was suffering from extreme chakra exhaustion (he had been there enough times to recognize the symptoms) and something about the way the fox's leg was twisted reminded him of what happened to Bushy-Brows during his fight with Gaara.

A strange desire swept over Naruto and he felt the need to pet the enormous fox. He reached out and gently scratched behind Kyuubi's ear, keeping a watchful eye out in case the giant Biju decided to wake up. The fur was softer and smoother than anything Naruto had ever felt before. He scratched harder and froze when Kyuubi let out a loud, full sigh. Terrified, Naruto bolted out of the cage and hid behind a broken sewer pipe. When nothing happened, he peeked out from behind the pipe. Kyuubi was still unconscious.

Naruto let out his own sigh and looked back at the fox. "Well, Fuzzy isn't going to be telling me anything for awhile," he said to himself. "Better get back and see Granny Tsunade. I bet she can tell me what happened."

Naruto turned to leave and tripped over the broken door. "Probably shouldn't leave this here." He picked up the large door, surprised that something so big could be so light and could contain something like Kyuubi. Naruto wasn't sure how to really repair the door, so he rested it up against its hinges for now. He clapped his hands together, brushing away the dirt, and admired his handiwork. The door was still bent and stood crooked in its frame. Basically, it still looked terrible. Naruto's face split into a fox-like grin and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh well," he shrugged. He turned and walked out of his mindscape, slowly fading from view.

In the cage, Kyuubi opened one of her eyes and started at the disappearing Naruto. "Stupid kit," she yawned before rolling over and falling back to sleep.

**-X-**

The sunlight was extra bright compared to the darkness of his mindscape and Naruto had to shield his eyes as he came back from his visit with Kyuubi.

"Well, that was a waste of time," he said and stood up to stretch his stiff joints.

"How's Kyuubi?" asked Jiraiya as he stepped out from behind a tree.

"Ero-Sennin? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting your ass kicked by a horde of angry women? And how did you know I went to see Kyuubi?" asked Naruto.

"I taught you how enter your mindscape kid, remember?" answered Jiraiya. "Do you remember what happened after you fought Sasuke?"

"I remember Kakashi-sensei bringing me to the hospital. Why, what's going on?"

"You don't know how you got out here?"

"Nope, not at all," smiled Naruto.

_He doesn't know that he died or about the Kyuubi's chakra spike,_ thought Jiraiya. _This could get interesting…_

"Um, Naruto, you'd better come with me. Lady Tsunade needs to talk to you about some things."

"Sure, I was going to go see Granny Tsunade anyway," replied Naruto.

Jiraiya walked beside Naruto, taking in the boy's new feral appearance. "Hey kid, what's with the claws? You tryin' to hook up with Inuzuka Hana or something? Start a litter of your own?"

"Pervert," Naruto muttered as they walked towards Hokage Tower.

**-X-**

In a small forest clearing, five miles outside Konoha's borders, a single bolt of lightning slammed into the ground. The flash was incredibly bright and when it faded, an old man leaning over a curved staff stood where the bolt had struck the ground. He coughed, patted his long white beard back into place, and straightened out his white robes.

A fierce miniature tornado appeared behind him, stirring up a cloud of dirt, twigs, and fallen leaves. When the small tornado dissipated, it revealed a man dressed in a red cloak and mask leaning up against a tree. His face was covered by the hood and mask; only his glowing grey eyes and a stripe of grey flesh were visible.

The man in red stepped towards the old man and crossed his arms impatiently. "What are we waiting for?"

"Our third. These shinobi tend to work in teams of three. Hence so shall we," replied the old man.

"Whatever. What's the big deal about this shinobi kid anyway?"

"Perhaps if you attended Ryu-uou's meeting, you would understand the urgency and purpose of our task."

"I was conducting important business," the man in red said defensively.

"Playing poker with the Goblin and Tonberry Kings is not important business," the old man said with a glare.

"It is when you're robbing them blind," laughed the man in red.

"May I remind you that Ryu-uou has reprimanded you many times over the last several millennia that such behavior is inappropriate? Someone of your importance and prestige should show more responsibility. Ah, here comes our third now."

A slow rumble filled the clearing and the ground shook all around them. A dark brown boulder shot up out of the ground in front of the pair. The boulder towered over the two men and caused them to take a careful step backwards.

The boulder began to crumble and shattered. Bits of stone fell away from the boulder until a gigantic man stood in its place. The man was tall and had dark tan skin. His arms, legs, chest, and stomach were all ripped masses of muscle. He had long brown hair and wore a leather loincloth for clothes. He walked barefoot towards the other two and brushed a bit of dust off his massive shoulder.

"Took you long enough Rock-head," grumbled the man in red, his cloak covered in beige colored dirt.

"Did you say something little man?" the giant said and stepped towards the man in red. The man in red refused to back down, despite only standing as tall as the giant's chest.

"Enough of this squabbling!" snapped the old man. Despite his old age, his voice echoed like thunder. "You're both too old to need babysitting. Try to put your differences aside until our task is done."

The giant and man in red glared at each other, but stepped back.

"Now, we must hurry," said the old man. "It has been too quiet in Konoha since the boy's chakra spike. I fear young Naruto maybe in great danger."

**-X-**

"Lemme go, you old hag!" shouted Naruto as he tried to squirm out of Tsunade's bone-crushing embrace. The moment Jiraiya brought Naruto in through her office window; Tsunade leapt from her desk, spilling paperwork and sake onto the floor, and wrapped her arms around Naruto. In her excitement to see Naruto alive, Tsunade forgot to check her superhuman strength and Naruto felt as if his insides were going to burst out of his ears. He began to turn blue and then purple.

"Air…" he gasped and tapped Tsunade on the shoulder.

"Oh," exclaimed Tsunade and let go of Naruto. Naruto fell unceremoniously to the floor and gasped for air.

"Lighten up Granny Tsunade!" shouted Naruto as he stood up. "You're acting like I was gone for a month or something."

Tsunade and Jiraiya shuffled around nervously, unsure how to tell Naruto the truth.

"Um, listen kid," Jiraiya started to say, but Tsunade stopped him with a wave of her hand. She sat down behind her desk and went into "Hokage mode".

"What do you remember from after Kakashi found you?" she asked.

"Um, I remember being in the hospital and telling Sakura I lost Sasuke. I guess I fell asleep after that and then somehow woke up on Hokage Mountain," said Naruto.

"There is no easy way to explain this Naruto. You didn't fall asleep. You died," Tsunade said seriously.

Naruto was silent for a moment before he burst into a roar of laughter. "Aw man, that's terrible, that really is. You guys need to work on your practical jokes cuz that is the worst ever!"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and Tsunade felt her blood pressure climbing as she resisted an urge to clobber some sense into the boy.

"It's not a joke, you baka!" she yelled. "I was the one trying to heal your wound, I was there! I declared you dead!" She grabbed a stack of papers off her desk and shoved them into Naruto's hands. "Look for yourself."

Naruto looked down at the papers and shuffled through them, scanning the pages. Hospital Report. Death Certificate. Killed In Action. All with his name marked deceased.

"This…this isn't a joke?" he whispered.

"I wish it was," said Tsunade and she poured herself a drink. She told Naruto what had happened: about the hospital, meeting with the Rookies, feeling the Kyuubi's chakra spike, and Jiraiya finding an empty morgue.

"I knew you favorite place in the whole village was Hokage Mountain," Jiraiya said. "It was the first place I looked."

It was a lot for Naruto to take in all at once. He sat in his chair, occasionally looking down at the Death Certificate with his name on it in his hands.

"It makes sense," he said after a few minutes. "When I went to talk to Kyuubi, the cage was all trashed. The seal was still attached to the door and all, but the place was a mess. And Kyuubi looked all tired and beat up too."

"What do you mean you went to talk to Kyuubi?" asked Tsunade.

"Well, when I woke up on Hokage Mountain, I felt all energetic and strong, like when I'm using Kyuubi's chakra. I even have claws and fangs like a fox. But I didn't feel Kyuubi at all. So I went into my mindscape like Ero-Sennin taught me to see what was going on."

"You taught him how to interact with the seal?" Tsunade turned and growled at Jiraiya.

"He'd been there before," he said and waved his hands defensively. "I just showed him how to do it consciously."

"What is it with sensei's teaching kids all these hazardous techniques today," she muttered and made a mental note to hit Jiraiya later before turning back to Naruto. "What was the Kyuubi up to? What did he say?"

"Well, he didn't say anything. He was lying on his side and sorta whimpering. He didn't even move when I walked into the cage and scratched behind his ears," said Naruto. Tsunade's and Jiraiya's jaws hit the floor.

"You petted the Kyuubi No Yoko?" Jiraiya gasped.

"You don't go around petting Biju like their puppies!" yelled Tsunade.

"I was only being nice!" Naruto shouted back.

Jiraiya stepped back and watched the two argue back and forth. He reached into his pocket and began scribbling furiously in his notebook. _This is great stuff,_ he thought. _Forbidden interaction, upsetting authority…yes, yes, this is magical!_

The argument was interrupted by the sudden appearance of an ANBU wearing a Boar mask inside the office.

"I said I didn't want to be disturbed," growled Tsunade.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade," apologized the ANBU, "but the honorable Council has requested your presence."

"Tell Danzo and his lackeys that I'll be along after I am finished here," Tsunade said and dismissed the ANBU with a wave of her hand. When the ANBU didn't leave, Tsunade grew concerned. "What?"

"The honorable Council—"

"You can drop the honorable Council shit," Jiraiya muttered unceremoniously.

"The honorable Council," the ANBU continued, "requested Uzumaki Naruto's presence as well."

The news stunned Tsunade. _How could anyone else know that Naruto is alive? _she wondered. _Everyone must have felt the Kyuubi's chakra spike, but could someone have seen him before Jiraiya got there?_

"We'll be along shortly," she said and the ANBU vanished in a shunshin of leaves.

"How could they know Naruto is alive?" Jiraiya asked the question that burned through Tsunade's mind.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But something isn't right. Stay close to me Naruto and keep your mouth shut."

**-X-**

The three strange men approached the massive exterior walls of Konoha. The many Chunin and Genin guarding the gate and patrolling the walls stared at the trio as they walked closer to the gate. Several Genin even hid when they saw the enormous size of the giant and the strange grey glow in the man in red's eyes.

"Why do they fear us?" wondered the giant. "We have not threatened them in any way."

"Your face is scaring them away," muttered the man in red.

"So says the man who hides behind a hood and mask," chuckled the old man. The man in red fumed with anger, but held his tongue as they stepped up to the gate. The two Chunin guarding the gate paled, but managed to hold their ground.

"Welcome travelers," one of the Chunin greeted. He had been born with a large and quite crooked nose that stood out prominently from the rest of his face.

"Please present your hitai-ite for inspection and identification before entering," the other, more serious Chunin said. He wore a mask that covered the right side of his face from top to bottom. His fingers crept towards the hilt of the short sword at his side.

"We aren't Shinobi," the man in red announced proudly. The two Chunin looked at each other then back at the strange trio. They didn't see any hitai-ite on the trio or any traditional Shinobi weapons. But the two Chunin knew to look underneath the underneath.

"State your names and business in Konoha," the serious Chunin ordered. His hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword, but he didn't draw it.

"No need to be hasty," the old man said calmly. "We are here for a meeting and a meal at your famous Ichiraku Ramen Bar."

"Meeting with who?" asked the big nosed Chunin.

"The Hokage of course," smiled the old man.

Big Nose pulled out a small piece of paper with the Hokage's appointment's on it. "Your names, please?"

"Of course. The gentle giant behind me is known as Titan and the fool in red is called Gilgamesh. I am Ramuh."

Big Nose quickly scanned the slip of paper, but didn't see any of the trio's names on it. "Umm, you're not on the list."

"Young man, do you really think the Hokage would tell you about all of her secret meetings?" Ramuh asked the guard. "A Hokage without secrets really isn't worth the title. Now let us pass before we are delayed any longer."

"Let them pass," Big Nose said and stepped aside.

"Thank you," smiled Ramuh and walked through the gate. Titan and Gilgamesh nodded at the guards before following Ramuh.

Once inside, the trio walked through the crowded streets. "Well, that was a joke," laughed Gilgamesh. "With security like that, it's a wonder this place hasn't been invaded and wiped off the map."

"Their security does seem lax," commented Ramuh, "but they are far from weak. Ryu-uou mentioned to me earlier that they recently fought off an enemy invasion. I suspect they are far stronger than they allow to be seen."

"When are we meeting the Hokage?" asked Titan.

"Ryu-uou said to wait at the ramen bar," answered Ramuh, "and she will come to us."

"A little vague, don't you think?" smirked Gilgamesh. "It could be hours before the Hokage shows up, if she even does. I haven't known many leaders that eat at Ramen stands," he said as they stopped in front of the small wooden building.

"Obviously, you've never had their miso and pork ramen," smiled Ramuh as he pushed aside the drapes and took a seat.

**-X-**

The Council Room was poorly lit as Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Naruto entered. Tsunade was shocked to see the full council, both civilian and Shinobi Clan heads, present. The Council rose to their feet as she entered, more from habit that real respect for the Hokage. They sat with a nod from Tsunade, all save for Danzo. The old, profusely bandaged, warrior remained standing.

"You were not summoned by the Council, Jiraiya-san."

"Oh, I know," smiled Jiraiya as he sat down and propped his feet up on the council table. Tsunade hid a small smile at her old friend and teammate's behavior. She collected herself and addressed Danzo with full confidence and authority.

"What do you want Danzo?" she asked, more than a little annoyed and impatient with the Council's brazen abuse of power.

"Direct and to the point as always, Lady Tsunade," said Danzo. He smiled, but his visible eye showed only disrespect and venomous hatred. "To be brief, I want the boy."

"You might want to rephrase that," chuckled Jiraiya. Several of the Shinobi Clan Heads snickered as well, but not one of the civilians broke so much as a smile.

"You know what I mean!" shouted Danzo, the flesh visible between his bandages turning bright red.

"Everyone in the Land of Fire felt the Kyuubi No Yoko's chakra spike after you had declared the boy dead," snapped Haruno Misaki, Sakura's mother. Naruto glared at her. Misaki had always gone out of her way to show her dislike for him, even going so far as to go to the Sandaime to protest Sakura being put on the same team as a "dead last, loser demon."

"The Demon Fox is taking control and must be destroyed or given to Danzo-san immediately!" Misaki concluded.

"Hey! I'm right here ya know," growled Naruto before Tsunade clamped a hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

"There is no proof that the Kyuubi is in control of Naruto. I have been talking with him for the last hour and he remains the normal hyperactive, unpredictable, gaki he has always been," Tsunade said evenly.

"May I remind you that you yourself declared the boy dead," stated Hyuuga Hiashi. "My apologizes, Lady Tsunade, but I would certainly hope that the greatest Medical-Nin the world has ever seen could tell the difference between a live boy and a dead one. Clearly, an outside force was at work and, as Misaki said, we all felt the Kyuubi's chakra spike."

"It is illogical and irresponsible to merely assume that Naruto is no longer in control without performing a full inquiry," said Aburame Shibi. "I move that Yamanaka Inoichi perform a full mental scan of the boy before further allegations are made."

"Second," said Inoichi, being curious about what lurked in the boy's mind for many years. Mitokado Homura stood and raised his hand.

"All in favor?" he asked. All the Shinobi heads but Hiashi raised their hands and three civilians did as well. "Majority rules," he said, somewhat depressed by the results. "Please step forward Naruto."

Naruto looked up at Tsunade. She nodded her head and he stepped to the edge of the Council table.

Inoichi rose from his chair and walked over to Naruto. He knelt down so he was eye level with the boy. "Just relax and look into my eyes," he said calmly.

"You're not gonna change my memories or anything, are you?" Naruto asked quietly.

Inoichi smiled. "No, nothing like that. I'm just going to take a quick look around. I promise I won't disturb anything, ok?" Naruto nodded and Inoichi made a few handseals before plunging into Naruto's mind.

**-X-**

Inoichi had dove into many minds in his years as a Shinobi, both as a part of Ino-Shika-Cho and as a consultant for ANBU Torture and Interrogation Squad. Each time had been a unique experience and he had seen many terrible things…

Naruto's mind was in a league all its own. The sewer was more vivid and complete than most mindscapes; it even had its own distinct smell. He maneuvered through the sewer, stepped around disgusting messes, until he reached an enormous golden cage. Inoichi stood in front of the cage, astonished by its size and its state of destruction. The bars were bent and twisted, the cage door hung loosely off its hinges, and the surrounding floor and walls were covered in burn marks.

Inoichi crept up to the bars and put his hands on them. He could hear the sound of something large breathing steadily from deep inside the cage, but couldn't make out anything. He stood up on his tiptoes and pressed his face through the gap in the bars to get a better look. Inoichi squinted through the darkness and saw the outline of a large, furry shape. He pulled his head away and looked closer at the door; he could see the Yondaime's seal still in place and intact.

'It's still trapped inside,' he thought and let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the breathing within the cage stopped. 'It heard me…' Inoichi paled and stepped away from the cage just before a bushy tail slammed into the bars and rattled the cage. Inoichi fell backwards as a par of glowing red eyes appeared behind the bent bars.

"So, they sent a little psychic mouse for me to snack on," the Kyuubi said and Inoichi thought he heard the distinct sound of the fox licking its lips.

Terrified, Inoichi's hands stumbled through handseals. "Shinrei Inmetsu no Jutsu ( Mind Destruction Jutsu)!"

A blast of psychic energy flew from Inoichi's forehead towards the glowing red eyes, but splashing against the bars of the cage like a dribble of water against stone. The Kyuubi let out a deep, frightening laugh.

"You have no power here mouse," sneered the fox. "Be gone."

A flash of red chakra swept out of the cage and collided into Inoichi. The chakra burned and tore at Inoichi's psyche and expelled him from Naruto's mind.

**-X-**

Inoichi fell backwards and scrambled away from Naruto, a look of sheer terror and panic on his face.

"Inoichi, what happened?" asked Akimichi Choza as he helped Inoichi up.

"Ky-Kyuubi," stammered Inoichi before he realized he was in no real danger, that Kyuubi had only blasted his mental projection. He caught his breath and collected himself. "Kyuubi is still contained, but just barely. While the seal remains intact, its cage is badly damaged. It discovered me and expelled me from Naruto's mind effortlessly."

"So that's what that tingly thing was in my head," muttered Naruto out loud, but no one paid any attention to him. The Council was too busy arguing and whispering amongst themselves. Danzo rapped a wooden gavel on the table to restore order.

"It is clear that the Kyuubi is on the verge of escaping," he said. "I doubt even all our combined strengths could contain it for very long. For the good of Konoha, it myst be destroyed once and for all, now while it is still weak."

The Council Elders and entire civilian section nodded and shouted out statements of support. The Shinobi Clan heads lowered their heads, knowing that Danzo had a valid point; the evidence was greatly against Naruto. Tsunade fumed and turned red with rage.

"How dare you?" she shouted. "You spineless cowards! You have no right…"

"To exercise authority over a Shinobi under your command," Danzo interrupted and finished for her. "I'm afraid that is no longer the case." He picked a scroll off the table and tossed it to Tsunade. "After witnessing the devastation caused by Sabaku no Gaara and the Ichibi no Shukaku, the Council came to an emergency decision. Under Council Ordinance 501, addendum 66: in the event of a Jinchūriki within Konoha's borders losing control over his/her Biju, he/she falls immediately under the jurisdiction of Konoha's Elder Council and a vote will be called as to how to deal with the situation."

"This is ridiculous," snarled Tsunade as she unrolled and scanned over the document.

"Another one of your amendments passed after the Sandaime's death while the kid and I were out searching for Tsunade?" growled Jiraiya, aware of more than a few rumors of laws passed during the absence of a Hokage.

"I do not appreciate your accusations, Jiraiya-san," said Danzo as innocently as he could. "Anything that may have been passed in the wake of the Sandaime's death was passed purely for the sake of Konoha."

Tsunade crumbled up the scroll in her fist and tossed it like garbage onto the table. "I will fight you on this Danzo," she growled, "even if I have to go to the Daimyo himself."

"That is your prerogative, of course," smiled Danzo. "But if I were you, I would count my blessings."

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto. "What blessings?"

"This Council was never in favor of allowing you to become a Shinobi," explained Danzo. "It was only at the Sandaime's insistence that you were admitted to the Academy. We thought that it might make you into a better weapon someday. But your failure to return Uchiha Sasuke, your death, and this demonic resurrection has proven us wrong about you for the last time. Now, if you three will excuse us. A vote this delicate needs to be conducted in private."

"I'll show you teme's delicate!" shouted Naruto. Jiraiya and Tsunade quickly latched onto the boy's arms before he could launch himself at the Council and tear the Elders apart with his new claws.

"This isn't helping gaki," Tsunade hissed into Naruto's ear.

"I don't care! If they want to kill me, they'll have to do it the old fashioned way!"

Tsunade and Jiraiya struggled, but managed to pull Naruto away from the table. He fought them, kicking and thrashing, but they hoisted him up and carried him out of the room. Once outside, they lessened their grip on Naruto and Tsunade smacked the angry boy on the back of the head.

"You baka! That little stunt back there pretty much sealed the vote for Danzo."

"I don't care. That teme was going to have me executed anyway."

"What do you mean?" asked Jiraiya.

"I recognized that Boar ANBU that came to get us. He's been a part of the mobs that tried to kill me on my birthday for years," explained Naruto. Tsunade's fists cracked audibly. She had heard about the Birthday Mobs from Kakashi and some of the other Shinobi and it infuriated her to no end. _How could Hiruzen-sensei have allowed things like that to happen to Naruto?_

"So what are we going to do?" asked Jiraiya, the only one amoungst them trying to keep a cool head. "We don't have a lot of time."

"Haven't you been paying attention, Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto. "The assholes want me dead and I plan on making them earn it."

"Use your head, Naruto," sighed Tsunade. "You can't fight the whole village."

"Could he leave with me?" wondered Jiraiya.

"The Council would declare you both nuke-nin within a day. You'll be hunted down by every Shinobi in the world, including Konoha Shinobi loyal to the Council."

"Do you think the Daimyo would listen to you?" Naruto asked Tsunade.

"Maybe. I think he'll be our best shot at overruling the Council. He was impressed by you at the Chunin Exams." Tsunade leaned up against a wall and ran her hands through her long blonde hair. "The only problem is that it could take days, even weeks, to get an audience."

"Get on it," said Jiraiya. "In the meanwhile, Naruto will leave with me. Even as nuke-nin, he'll be safer out in the wilds with me than anywhere else."

"Not a whole lot of other options," Tsunade nodded. "You ok with that?"

"Do I have a choice?" muttered Naruto. Tsunade smiled sadly, knelt down, and wrapped her arms around Naruto.

"I'll fix this," she whispered, her eyes forming with tears. "I promise." Naruto hugged her back, a few tears falling down his whisker-marked cheeks.

"C'mon kid, we have to pick up a few things before we leave," said Jiraiya. Tsunade and Naruto broke away from each other and Naruto stepped next to Jiraiya.

"See you later, Baa-chan," Naruto said and gave Tsunade his biggest smile.

"So long gaki," waved Tsunade as Jiraiya and Naruto vanished in a leaf shunshin.

A moment later, the doors to the Council Chambers opened and the Boar ANBU stepped into the hallway.

"The honorable Council has made its decision," he announced and looked around. "Where is Jiraiya-san and Uzumaki?"

Tsunade put on a confused face and looked around in a circle. She stopped at the spot where Jiraiya and Naruto had just been. "My goodness," she gasped theatrically. "They were just here a second ago." She turned back and looked at Boar. "You know, these Shinobi are so hard to keep track of sometimes."

**-X-**

"Hurry up and pack a few things," Jiraiya said as they landed on the rooftop of Naruto's apartment building. "Just take what you absolutely need. I'll be back in three minutes and then we are out of here." With that, Jiraiya took off in the direction of the Hokage Tower.

Naruto, alone for the first time since Jiraiya found him on top of the monument, wall-walked off the roof and into the window of his apartment. The tiny and dirty apartment was just as he left it.

"I give it a day before this place is turned upside down and destroyed," Naruto muttered to himself. He grabbed a small backpack and began to stuff clothes into it, not really looking to see what he was packing, but not really caring either.

_Stupid Council, stupid village,_ he thought as he shoved his pouches of second hand shuriken and kunai into the bag. _When I'm Hokage…_ he stopped in mid thought. Hokage. There was no way he'd ever become Hokage now. Even if Tsunade managed to keep him from being executed, the Council would oppose his every move. They would never allow him to be nominated or accepted as Hokage.

"They'd make Sasuke-teme Rokudaime Hokage before me," Naruto growled. His dream crushed, Naruto sat down on his lousy bed and stared at his clawed fingers.

"C'mon kid, time to go," Jiraiya announced as he returned from Hokage Tower, a trio of scrolls tucked into his jacket, and entered through Naruto's open window. Jiraiya's trademark grin faded when he saw Naruto sitting on his bed, staring at his clawed fingers.

"You ok?" he asked, even though it was clear that Naruto was anything but ok.

"What am I going to do now?" Naruto asked softly. "I'll never be Hokage now, will I?"

"Nope," Jiraiya frowned. "Even if Tsunade is able to clear this whole mess up, the Council would never allow it."

"Gee, thanks for cheering me up, Ero-Sennin," Naruto said with a small, but sarcastic smile.

Jiraiya sat down on the bed and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I know you've had a tough time around here kid, but blowing smoke up your ass isn't going to help anything. C'mon, lets get out of town, do some training, and maybe, if you behave, I'll let you help me with my research."

"You go through that whole speech about blowing smoke and you still call it research. Just admit you're peeping, ya pervert!"

"Now, now, that's the attitude that's been holding you back with the ladies," laughed Jiraiya. "Now get the rest of your stuff. We're meeting Tsunade just outside the gates in twenty minutes."

**-X-**

Naruto and Jiraiya walked through the village streets, headed directly for the gates. After Jiraiya had been in such a hurry to get him packed and out of his apartment, Naruto was upset that they were actually walking towards the gates.

"How come we gotta walk? Why aren't we running on the rooftops or using a shunshin?" he whined and looked over his shoulder for the third time since they left his apartment.

"Running around or using jutsu will draw attention," Jiraiya explained. "We're trying to escape under the radar, not alert the Council or ANBU that we're leaving Konoha. We have to be subtle. And why do you keep looking over your shoulder?"

"The whole village keeps staring at me," muttered Naruto uneasily. "Its like they're all ready to either attack me or piss themselves as I walk by."

"Tsunade said that everyone, shinobi and civilians alike, felt Kyuubi's chakra spike," said Jiraiya. "It's sure it scared the holy hell out of all of them. You can't really blame them kid."

"I know. It'll be better once we get outta here."

"We'll be gone in a few minutes, as long as nothing happ…"

"NARUTO!" shouted a feminine voice beside them. Naruto spun around while Jiraiya smacked himself on the back of the head for jinxing them.

_Flashback_

Ino and Tenten did when Lady Tsunade had told them to do. They took Hinata back to the Hyuuga Compound and waited for her to wake up. When she did, Hinata looked around confused and scared.

"Wha- What happened?" she asked and stood up from her bed. "How did I get home?"

"We carried you," said Ino.

"Don't you remember what you did?" asked Tenten. Hinata shook her head.

"I remember Lady Tsunade telling us that Naruto-kun…" Hinata couldn't finish. Ino and Tenten quickly filled in their friend, who turned even paler and sat back down.

"I-I attacked Lady Tsunade?" she stammered.

"Smashed her sake good," smiled Tenten. "Shame, it was good stuff too."

"And…and I sa-said?"

"Yep. You called her a sad excuse for a Hokage," Ino said cheerfully. Hinata paled even more and wavered back and forth. "Whoa, easy Hinata. Breathe, girl, breathe. Everything's ok."

"Ok? How is it ok?" whimpered Hinata. "I insulted and attacked the Hokage! They're going to lock me away or execute me!"

"No one's going to lock you away or execute you," laughed Ino. "Lady Tsunade isn't like that. She wasn't even mad. I think what you did was just what she needed."

"I still need to apologize," said Hinata.

"Are you up for it?" asked Tenten. Hinata nodded and stood up.

_End of Flashback_

"Uh, hey guys," Naruto smiled and waved at the three girls, but remembered his claws and quickly lowered his hand. Hinata took one look at Naruto and collapsed in a dead faint.

"Hinata!" Naruto leapt forwards and caught Hinata just before she hit the ground. He gently lowered her down and cradled her head in his lap. Tenten and Ino just stared in shock, their jaws slack.

Jiraiya pinched the bridge of his nose and looked around. He scanned the crowded streets and surrounding rooftops for ANBU. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no signs of pursuers.

"What are you three doing?" he whispered to Ino. People were beginning to notice Naruto holding Hinata and it was making Jiraiya nervous.

"We, uh, we were, um…" Tenten trailed off, her eyes still fixed on Naruto. "What were we doing?"

"I think we were going to see Lady what's her name," said Ino, her brain stuck in a loop. "Wasn't he dead?"

Jiraiya smiled. "It seemed the announcement of Naruto's death was a tad premature."

"So he's not dead?" Tenten asked just to be sure.

"He's alive and kicking," said Jiraiya, relieved and happy to see the girls concern for Naruto and their smiles at the news.

Meanwhile, Naruto shook Hinata gently as he tried to revive her. "C'mon Hinata-chan, wake up."

Jiraiya, Ino, and Tenten walked over and stood above Naruto and Hinata. Jiraiya smiled at Naruto's devotion and decided to have a little fun with the blonde.

"Naruto, why don't you try mouth-to-mouth?"

All three Genin turned and glared at the Sannin. Naruto opened his mouth to call Jiraiya an old, ugly pervert, but felt Hinata stir in his arms.

"Hinata-chan?" he whispered and looked down at her. Hinata's eyes slowly fluttered open and blinked away the sunlight.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Are you ok? You kinda went all limp and fell all of a sudden."

Hinata didn't answer. The sight of her crush alive and holding her overloaded Hinata's mind and she flung her arms around Naruto's neck. Naruto froze for a moment, startled by Hinata's sudden embrace, but recovered quickly and returned the hug.

Ino and Tenten smiled and Ino even grew a little teary-eyed at the sight. Jiraiya, however, grew more and more nervous. They had been in one place too long and had drawn too much attention for his taste. He tapped Naruto lightly on the shoulder.

"We have to go Naruto," he said. "We don't want to be late."

Hinata looked up at Jiraiya, her arms still slung around Naruto. "Where are you going? You just came back."

"Naruto and I are going on a little training trip," Jiraiya lied. He didn't want to tell the girls the real reason they were leaving Konoha; they would find out soon enough.

"I'll be back soon, Hinata-chan," smiled Naruto. He looked into Hinata's lavender eyes and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Hinata's knees wobbled and she would've fallen in a faint again if Naruto hadn't been holding her.

_Naruto-kun kissed me!_ she exclaimed inside her head. _What should I do? _Summoning all her courage, Hinata craned her neck up, her lips pursed to kiss Naruto back on the cheek.

"C'mon Naruto," interrupted Jiraiya, "time to go."

Naruto turned his face towards Jiraiya to say something back and turned right into Hinata. Her lips pressed onto Naruto's slightly open mouth and both their eyes snapped open in surprise. For a heartbeat, they stood there with their eyes open and lips locked. Then Naruto's eyes slowly fluttered closed and he kissed Hinata back. Hinata's eyes rolled back in her head and she melted against Naruto's body.

Behind them, Tenten and Ino laughed and Tenten let out a loud wolf whistle. Jiraiya temporarily forgot all about gathering too much attention and scribbled down every detail of the kiss in his notebook.

A sudden breeze alerted Jiraiya's senses. He looked around and saw the shadow of an ANBU appear in a nearby alley. _Idiot_, he thought. _An ANBU should know better than to shunshin that obviously so close to his target._ He put his notebook away and grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket.

"Time to go Romeo!" he yelled and yanked Naruto away from Hinata, nearly knocking Hinata over in the process. Jiraiya ran as fast as he could towards the gates, dragging Naruto behind him.

Ino and Tenten watched as the two Shinobi ran off in a blur of white hair and orange jacket, shocked by their sudden departure. They jumped out of the way as a squad of ANBU suddenly appeared and took off after Jiraiya and Naruto.

"What the hell was that?" asked Tenten.

"I have no idea?" answered Ino before she remembered Hinata. The Hyuuga heiress was still standing there, eyes half-closed, and lips pursed. "You ok Hinata?" Ino asked and waved her hand in front of Hinata's face.

"I think Naruto broke her," snickered Tenten when Hinata didn't react to Ino's hand.

"Maybe I should do a quick mind scan, see if she's ok?" suggested Ino. Tenten nodded in agreement. Ino made a quick hand seal and focused her mind.

"Mind Scan," she said and closed her eyes. A second later, Ino's eyes snapped back open and she scrambled backwards away from Hinata.

"What's the matter?" asked Tenten, concerned. "What did you see?"

Ino shook her head back and forth. "She-she's fine," she stammered, flustered. Tenten raised an eyebrow; she smelled something gossip worthy.

"What did you see Ino?"

"Really, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary," Ino replied as she wiped away Hinata's nosebleed before Tenten noticed and, after witnessing the provocative images on the surface of Hinata's mind, prayed she didn't have one herself.

**-X-**

"Slow down Ero-Sennin!" yelled Naruto as Jiraiya dragged him through the streets. "What's the big idea anyway?"

"Shut up gaki!" Jiraiya yelled back. "If you hadn't made such a scene making out with your girlfriend, Danzo's ANBU never would have caught up with us!"

"ANBU?" Naruto craned his neck and saw Boar running after them; an entire squad of ANBU ran behind Boar and along the rooftops. "What are we gonna do?"

"We're running, aren't we?"

"But there's not that many of them. We can take em!"

"And kill half the village doing their shopping in the crossfire? Think about it kid; that's just what Danzo wants," said Jiraiya, but he let go of Naruto's arm.

Naruto ran beside Jiraiya; together they dodged and jumped over villagers in their way, no longer caring if they drew attention to themselves. More ANBU appeared in the alleyways and rooftops around them. They ran alongside Jiraiya and Naruto, occasionally moving ahead to block a side street or alley.

_They're herding us,_ Jiraiya quickly realized. "Be ready for anything kid. We're almost at the gate, but they're not gonna make things easy for us."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Naruto said, his voice a deep growl. Jiraiya looked over at Naruto and saw him stretch his fingers, splaying his clawed fingers out wide instead of clenching them into fists. Killing intent leaked out of Naruto's pores and Jiraiya wondered just how contained the Kyuubi really was.

_Might have to reinforce that seal when we get out of here,_ Jiraiya thought as they rounded a corner and came to a screeching halt.

Two dozen ANBU stood in a loose semi-circle in front of them, blocking their route to the gates. The ANBU each had weapons drawn or their hands in various handseals. Jiraiya smirked as more ANBU filed in behind them, sealing off their escape.

"Looks like you'll get to fight a little after all kid."

**-X-**

Ramuh sipped the last of his ramen broth and let out a small burg. "Pardon me," he smiled apologetically at Ayame.

"Don't worry about it," she laughed. "Around here, that's a compliment to the chef." Gilgamesh laughed and took a deep breath to pass along his own compliments when Titan covered his mouth with his massive hand. Gilgamesh let out a series of muffled shouts and curses until Titan raised a finger to his mouth.

"Shh," he whispered. "Listen." He removed his hand from Gilgamesh's mouth and the trio listened carefully. A low whisper filled the air and, suddenly, a Fuuma Shuriken tore through a wall and twirled towards Ayame. The girl screamed and tired to move out of the way, but was just too slow. All she could do was close her eyes and wait for it to tear into her.

There was a crimson blur and a clang of metal on metal. When she didn't feel the Fuuma Shuriken slice into her, Ayame opened her eyes and saw the shuriken fall to the floor, cut to pieces. She looked up and saw Gilgamesh standing in front of her holding the largest sword she had ever seen.

The sword was shaped like a butcher's knife with a single edge along its bottom and had a pair of circular holes cut into the blade near the hilt. The sword was nearly as long as Gilgamesh was tall and looked like it was incredibly heavy, although Gilgamesh hefted it onto his shoulder with one hand quite easily. Ayame wondered where he hid the massive sword, but was too flabbergasted to speak.

Ramuh stood up and pulled a small leather pouch out of his robes. "It seems out appointment has been stepped up," he said and placed a large amount of ryo on the counter. "Thank you for the meal, my dear. I suggest you and your father leave out the back." Ayame was still too bewildered and shocked to move; she stood still and muttered a few nonsensical syllables. "Go!" commanded Ramuh. His voice echoed like thunder and startled Ayame into action. She quickly swept up the ryo off the counter and ran into the back to get her father.

Once Ayame was gone, the trio walked out of the ramen stand and into the chaotic streets. All around them, villagers ran to and fro in a panic, small fires burned on rooftops and storefronts, and the sound of fighting filled the air.

"Sounds like we missed the beginning of the party," Gilgamesh said, his giant Buster Sword tapping impatiently on his shoulder. Titan nodded and cracked his meaty knuckles loudly. Ramuh tapped the base of his staff against the ground and blue-white lightning danced up the staff and across his body. When Ramuh tapped his staff again, a swell of white light engulfed the trio and when it faded, they were gone.

**-X-**

Jiraiya cursed as he ducked under another Fuuma Shuriken thrown by one of the ANBU. _These guys are better than regular ANBU. What has Danzo been up to? _he wondered. He his hands flew through several seals and he shouted, "Katon: Endan!" A steam of burning oil spewed out of the Toad Sage's mouth and quickly incinerated the ANBU into smoldering ash.

A loud cry of pain caught Jiraiya's attention. He turned and saw Naruto engaged in a taijutsu brawl with the Boar masked ANBU from the council meeting. Naruto threw a wild punch that Boar easily ducked and countered with a vicious kick to the chest. Naruto careened across the street and crashed into a storefront. Jiraiya hurried to help, but was cut off by several ANBU. They surrounded him in a tight circle, their various weapons pointed at Jiraiya's neck.

"Our orders are not to kill you if possible," an ANBU said emotionlessly from behind a fish mask. "Please surrender and allow us to complete our mission."

"Not gonna happen," Jiraiya growled and slapped away the nearest ANBU blade before smashing its wielder's mask with his fist.

**-X-**

Naruto carefully picked himself up, his chest aching with pain from Boar's kick. "Damn it, guess I'm not as healed as I thought," he groaned. "Oh well. I've wanted a piece of you for a long time Pig Boy and I'm not gonna let anything stop me now!" Naruto crossed his fingers in front of his chest and shouted: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Four copies of Naruto poofed into existence on either side of the original. "Here we go!" the five Naruto's shouted in unison and rushed at Boar. The first clone sprinted past Boar as a diversion to give the second a chance to kick the ANBU into the air. Boar hung in the air for a moment before orange flashes began to dance around him. The four clones shouted as they pummeled Boar with punches, claw swipes, and kicks.

"U!"

"Zu!"

"Ma!"

"Ki!"

Naruto, the original Naruto, sat perched on the back of the last clone. He jumped off the clone's back and twirled in the air above Boar.

"Naruto Rendan!" he shouted and drove his foot into Boar's neck. The kick crushed Boar's collarbone and drove him into the ground, leaving him in the center of a small crater.

Naruto landed over him and dispersed his clones with a thought. "Gotcha," he smiled until Boar's body burst in a cloud of smoke and a large log covered in footprints, knuckle marks, and claw scars appeared in its place.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu?" Naruto whispered and searched his surroundings for Boar, but didn't see any trace of the ANBU. He concentrated on finding him so much that Naruto didn't notice a small silver ball wrapped in an explosive tag roll out of the log and come to rest at his feet.

It wasn't until the tag began to glow and pulse with chakra that Naruto picked up on it. The ball exploded at Naruto's feet and released hundreds of senbon needles at him. Naruto let out a loud gasp of pain as dozens of barbed needles sank into his flesh. He fell to one knee and felt dizzy and nauseous.

Boar appeared in front of Naruto and drew a tipless tanto from inside his sleeve. "It is called Loci Venom. It is made from the poison of a rare spider from the Land of Wind," explained Boar. "It starts by causing disorientation and nausea in its victims, leaving it vulnerable just long enough for it to attack again. But in a high enough dosage, it causes complete paralysis accompanied by a wave of euphoria. Do you feel it?"

"Euphoria?" Naruto growled through grit teeth. "No."

"That is unfortunate," Boar sighed. His voice was completely casual and without a trace of emotion. "It seems that being a demon has given you a degree of immunity to the Loci," he observed, "replacing paralysis with extreme pain as your metabolism burns through the poison."

"Lucky me," Naruto smirked between grimaces.

"I'm afraid not. It means I will not be able to take you back to Danzo-san as he had hoped. But I will be rewarded for bringing you back dead as well."

Jiraiya saw Boar moving in for the kill and struggled to reach Naruto before it was too late. He kicked and punched at the ANBU surrounding him, but for every ANBU Jiraiya knocked away, another two appeared in its place.

Naruto struggled to get to his feet and fight back against Boar, but the Loci venom sent waves of fiery pain through his body each time he tried to move.

_Where the hell are you when I really need you fox!_ he shouted inside his mind. _I can't believe you wasted all that energy and chakra to bring me back to life and now you won't do a damn thing to keep me that way!_

Boar reached out and grabbed Naruto's blonde hair and jerked it back to expose Naruto's neck. The motion sent a flash of pain down Naruto's spine and he let out a terrible howl of pain. Boar grinned beneath his mask and pulled Naruto's head back farther.

"Stay dead," Boar spat and pulled his tanto back to strike.

A soft buzzing filled the air and the hairs on Naruto's arm stood on end. A bright light flashed beside Naruto and startled Boar, who thought it was one of Jiraiya's jutsu that had gotten through the other ANBU, and he jumped away from it. When the light faded, three men stood in its place.

"Is that him?" Gilgamesh asked and pointed the tip of his boot at Naruto.

"He doesn't look like much," rumbled Titan as he bent his massive frame in half to inspect the injured boy.

"Looks can be deceiving. Look underneath the underneath," Ramuh said. "He is the one Ryu-uou sent us to retrieve."

"Who are you?" Boar asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I am sorry, I forgot you were still there," Ramuh said and waved Boar away. "You may go now." Boar started to take a step away when he remembered that he was the one in charge and that these three strangers were the ones interrupting his mission.

"You are interfering with a mission given to me directly from the honorable Council of Konoha. Step away from my target or face execution beside him," he ordered.

"Aren't you the big bad soldier?" teased Gilgamesh. "You must be some kind of tough guy, beating up on a poor kid." Ramuh glared at him, silencing the swordsman, before looking back at boar.

"Rest assured that our orders come from a much higher power than your corrupt and mortal council. Leave the boy and his companion your teammates are delaying," Ramuh commanded, his voice steady as steel. "Go back and tell your council that Uzumaki Naruto is under the protection of Ryu-uou, ruler of the Nether, and you shall pursue him no more!"

"If you stand with the boy then you will share his fate!" shouted Boar and threw another Loci Bomb at Ramuh. The glowing ball sped through the air as Titan stepped away from Naruto and in front of Ramuh, moving faster than Boar believed a being of his size could move. His huge hand wrapped around the glowing bomb, caught it, and contained the explosion. Smoke leaked out from between his fingers and Boar smiled beneath his mask, certain that the Loci venom would paralyze the giant in seconds. Titan looked at Boar and smirked. He opened his hand and hundreds of broken senbon needles fell from his palm; not a single one had pierced Titan's rock-hard skin.

Gilgamesh vanished and reappeared beside the astonished Boar. "Impressed?" he whispered and swung the broadside of his Buster Sword at Boar. Boar jumped away from the blade, only to be hit by a gust of hurricane force winds. The winds propelled the ANBU backwards through the air and he crashed into his teammates surrounding Jiraiya.

Not one to ever look a gift horse in the mouth, Jiraiya leapt through the hole the crashing Boar made. He landed near Naruto and spun around, his hands already flying through handseals. A hand fell on his wrist and Jiraiya flinched from a small shock of static electricity.

"Allow me," Ramuh said, his eyes cold and dangerous. Jiraiya shrugged and stepped aside, letting his curiosity getting the better of him. Ramuh stepped towards the pile of ANBU just as Boar was picking himself up and tapped his staff on the ground.

A bolt of lightning, starting from his hand clutching the staff, traveled down the staff and raced along the ground. It arced up the ANBU's legs and held them in place while disrupting the bodies' nervous system. They fell backwards, feet still glued to the ground, and twisted and jittered from the lightning.

"Impressive," Jiraiya clapped and nodded.

"Thank you," smiled Ramuh in return. Gilgamesh and Titan walked over to the two, Titan cradling an unconscious Naruto.

"Naruto…" Jiraiya started to say, worried, and fearing the worst.

"He's fine," Titan said. "The poison is wearing off; he's just unconscious."

"Thank goodness," Jiraiya sighed in relief. He held out his arms for Titan to hand Naruto over to him, but the giant didn't move. Jiraiya looked from Titan and Ramuh and asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, but Naruto needs to come with us," explained Ramuh. "He has a capacity and ability that will be greatly needed against the growing darkness."

"What darkness? Just who the hell are you guys? Akatsuki?" Jiraiya demanded and slipped into his taijutsu stance.

Ramuh held up his hand. "Save your strength. We are not members of the Akatsuki? We are Espers of the Nether, Guardians of the Planet. This is Titan of the Earth and Gilgamesh of the Four Winds. I am Ramuh of the Storms."

"Jiraiya, Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. Pleased to meet you," Jiraiya said without being very friendly or relaxing from his taijutsu stance. He ignored Gilgamesh's sudden look of recognition and exclamation. "You mentioned a coming darkness?"

"There are many threats to the Planet and its peoples. Should they unite, they will swallow all the world in poison and darkness," explained Titan.

"There are forces at work far more sinister and powerful than Orochimaru and the Akatsuki," said Ramuh.

"So where does Naruto fit into this picture?"

"I do not know," Ramuh admitted. "But Ryu-uou said that Naruto was our only hope and if Ryu-uou believes that than it is good enough for me to follow my orders."

Jiraiya sighed and lowered his fists. "I couldn't stop you, not even if I wanted to, could I?"

"I doubt it," Ramuh smiled kindly. "Nor should you want to. From what I have seen, Naruto doesn't have many reasons to stay. It doesn't seem safe for him here."

"You got that right," Jiraiya muttered before digging into his pocket. "Give these to Naruto once you get to wherever it is you're going. They are from his mother, father, the Hokage, and me," he said and handed Ramuh the three scrolls he took from the Hokage Tower. Ramuh took the scrolls with a nod and tucked them away in his white robes.

"Farewell Jiraiya," he turned and placed a hand on Titan's shoulder. He raised his staff and lightning danced across his chest and arms.

"Wait!" shouted Jiraiya. "When will we be able to see Naruto again? Will he be able to come back?"

"That will be up to him," smiled Ramuh. He tapped his staff on the ground and vanished with Titan and Naruto in a bolt of lightning.

_That is so cool!_ Jiraiya thought with boyish envy before he noticed Gilgamesh was still standing there. The brash swordsman stared at his feet and mumbled something Jiraiya couldn't make out.

"What did you say?"

"Can I have your autograph?" Gilgamesh asked and held out an old and battered looking Icha Icha Paradise #1. Jiraiya chuckled and took the book.

"I didn't know I had an audience in the Nether, wherever the hell that is."

"Ryu-uou and I are the only ones, although I caught Shiva reading over Ryu-uou's shoulder a few times."

Jiraiya finished autographing the book and handed it back to Gilgamesh. "Keep an eye out for the next one."

"Of course. I have every single one. Thank you," Gilgamesh said. He tucked the book back into his cloak and was about to leave when Jiraiya stopped him.

"Take care of the kid for me," the Sannin said seriously. "He's all the family Tsunade and I have left."

"We will," Gilgamesh said and smiled beneath his mask before disappearing in a roar of wind.

"I have to learn how they do that," Jiraiya smirked. He heard a painful moan behind him and remembered about Boar and the ANBU squad. He trotted over and stood over the jittery and unconscious shinobi.

"What should I do with you guys? Feed you to my Fire Toads or let Tsunade decide what to do with you?" Jiraiya threatened before he felt a shiver up his spine.

_How the hell am I going to explain all this to Tsunade-hime? _ he wondered and realized that Tsunade was going to hit him for all this.

* * *

Translations:

Shinrei Inmetsu no Jutsu - Mind Destruction Jutsu

Katon: Endan - Fire Style: Flame Bullet

Kage Bushin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Jutsu

Uzumaki Naruto Rendan - Naruto Uzumaki Barrage

Kawarimi: Body Replacement Jutsu/Substitution Jutsu

* * *

Author's Notes:

Chapter II in the books. I hope you liked it. Originally, it was a much shorter chapter, but when I added the arrival of the Esper Trio, things began to just go on and on. I apologise if the Espers seem a little OOC, but there really isn't a whole lot of history in dealing with their personalities and traits outside of their attacks.

Please read and review! For those new to my writing, I always respond to my reviewers before I post the next chapter/update of that particular story. So please make sure you sign your review and I promise to get back to you.

Later


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own rights to Naruto or Final Fantasy. They belong to their respective creators. This is a work of entertainment for no monetary gain.

**Naruto: Rise of the Espers**

**Chapter III**

**The Nether**

Darkness gave way to dull light as Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He stared up at a beige stone ceiling and didn't recognize anything. He couldn't remember any ceiling in Konoha that looked like this one.

He reached up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and looked around. He was lying in a fluffy bed large enough for three people to sprawl out in and never touch each other. The bed was the softest and warmest Naruto had felt. The walls were a darker shade of brown than the ceiling and had several large windows. Naruto squinted to look out the window closest to him, but saw nothing but white clouds and starry skies.

Naruto was disappointed with the lack of view and let out a sigh. He looked around the rest of the room and saw a man with grey skin wearing a dark red cloak and hood standing against the far wall. He was reading a familiar looking orange book.

"Ahem," Naruto coughed to get the man's attention. The man in red peeked up from his book and, seeing Naruto awake, slipped the book into a hidden pocket in his cloak.

"It's about time your awake," he said. "The others have been waiting for nearly two hours."

"Who are you?" asked Naruto. "Where am I?"

"Who am I? Oh, that's right, you were already unconscious when we arrived to pick you up. My name's Gilgamesh, Esper of the Four Winds, unconquerable swordsman, and rogue extraordinaire. And you are in the Nether, in between the in between."

"Huh? What the hell's that supposed to mean? You sound almost as dumb as Kakashi-sensei and his "Look underneath the underneath" bull."

"I'm sure Ramuh will explain it better, he always liked the sound of his own voice. Personally, I can't find the energy to really give a shit," Gilgamesh said and tossed some clothes at Naruto. "Hurry up and throw these on. We can't keep Ryu-uou and the others waiting any more than they already have."

Naruto suddenly realized he was naked and caught the clothes. "Why am I naked, you teme? Where are my clothes?"

"I didn't undress you gaki!" Gilgamesh shouted. "You were banged up and poisoned from your fight with those ANBU, plus the trip here tends to play havoc on a mortal's insides. Faerie wanted to give you a quick looking over when you got here. Don't worry, I'm sure she was gentle with you. As for those god awful things you called clothes, they're being repaired and cleaned. I wanted them to be burned, but Ramuh thought you might want them back. What kind of shinobi wears bright orange anyway?"

"It was all I could afford, alright?" Naruto shouted.

"Yeah whatever. Just get your ass out of bed," Gilgamesh said. "You got one minute before I march you down to the throne room bare ass naked. If you get too close to Shiva like this, you'll shrivel up with frostbite and then you'll be worthless for whatever it is Ryu-uou needs you for."

Naruto waited until Gilgamesh left the room before jumping out of the bed and grabbing the clothes. The clothes were dark green robes and matching pants made from the finest silk and cotton. Naruto had never felt such clothes, he had only ever seen them on some of the Clan Elders and wealthiest merchants in Konoha. After he slipped the pants on, Naruto hurried to the nearest window. He hopped onto the window sill and looked for a way down. There was nothing but miles and miles of clouds and air beneath the window.

_So much for that idea_, he thought. _Must be somewhere in Kumo. I'd better finish getting dressed. I doubt they want to hurt me. If they did I wouldn't have woken up in a cell and not a comfy bed._

Naruto slipped on the robe and tied it in place with a black obi belt. He was happy to find his Konoha hitai-ite inside the robes inner pocket. He quickly returned it to its place on his forehead and headed for the door.

Gilgamesh was waiting just outside the door, his nose buried in his book. "About time," he said annoyed. "Everyone's waiting, let's go."

Naruto followed Gilgamesh through a large complex of corridors. The walls and floor were made of flawless, seamless sandstone and large windows, like the ones in Naruto's room, continued every few feet. Every time Naruto paused to look out one of these windows, he still saw nothing but clouds and stars.

Finally, Gilgamesh stopped in front of a large double door. The doors were ridiculously large. They towered hundreds of feet above Naruto's head and were wide enough ten men to walk through side-by-side. The obsidian doors were a stark contrast to the light colored sandstone of the walls and floor.

"Are you ready?" asked Gilgamesh.

"Ready for what?"

"To meet with Ryu-uou and the others," Gilgamesh answered with a slight eye roll. "Look, just try to behave alright. Not everyone in there is as fun as I am. Remember what I said about Shiva and frostbite?"

Naruto shivered unconsciously. "Anything else I should know?"

"Be honest. Ryu-uou knows more than you can possibly imagine," Gilgamesh said and knocked twice on the double door. There was a loud creak of complaint from the hinges as one of the doors swung open on its own. Naruto waved his hand in front of his face to clear away the falling dust.

"Need to get someone to take care of that," Gilgamesh coughed from the dust. "Been too long since we used the actual door. Usually, we just portal right into the throne room."

Naruto wanted to ask Gilgamesh what he meant, but was pushed through the door before he could ask. Once inside the throne room, he was too amazed to form words. The room was massive and very open with a high ceiling supported by a dozen marble columns. The floor was also white marble speckled with streaks of black. It was the first room that lacked any visible windows, although the room was so large they could have been at the edges and Naruto never would have seen them.

In the center of the room was a large ironwood table with four chairs along each of its sides and a throne on both ends. The chairs were rather plain compared to the rest of the room, yet were still made from the same ironwood as the table with silk cushions on the backs and seats. The thrones were ornately carved with golden furnishings and sparkling gems that Naruto couldn't recognize.

"Stand here," said Gilgamesh and pointed at a corner of the table before taking his place behind one of the side chairs. Naruto did what he was told and waited.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashed and struck the ground beside Naruto. Naruto screamed and jumped backwards in fright, much to Gilgamesh's amusement.

_How did a bolt of lightning get indoors?_ Naruto wondered and on the heels of that thought came: _Gilgamesh did that on purpose._

He watched in astonishment as an old man dressed all in white stepped out of the lightning's flash and stepped behind one of the chairs. Naruto's mouth dropped even wider as a boulder erupted out of the marble floor and a giant walked out of it.

One the other side of the table, the air shimmered over a chair and frost began to cover another. A ball of fire and a pillar of ice appeared above both chairs and Naruto was shocked by the exotic and extreme appearance of the two newcomers.

Naruto was terrified by the figure that stepped out of the fire. It was a feral looking monster, more demon than human. Two massive curved horns sprang from his forehead, his mouth filled with vicious teeth. His body was heavily muscled, although more streamlined and compacted than those of the giant man that walked out of the boulder. His skin was tan with a greenish tint and he was only clothed in a loincloth and bits of metal armor and jewelry. Fire lapped and danced between his horns like hair and covered the outside of his forearms as well. His hands and bare feet were both oversized and ended in wicked claws.

The woman who stepped out of the ice pillar was the fire demon's total opposite. She was lithe with pale blue skin and eyes cold as ice. Her face was beautiful, but her expression was chilly. She had very long, blue hair braided into dreadlocks and decorated with gold rings. She wore only a few scraps of clothing that displayed much more than they hid and only preserved a wisp of modesty.

Naruto couldn't help but stare at the blue beauty, completely oblivious to the blood dribbling out of his nose. Fortunately, Gilgamesh noticed and coughed loudly. Naruto shook his head and pulled himself back together, remembering Gilgamesh's frostbite warning.

Naruto wasn't sure what to do. He was surrounded by five beings that were each well beyond the definition of the word "unique". He waited for one of them to say or do something, but everyone in the room just looked at one of the thrones, waiting for something to happen. Naruto watched and a ragged black tear appeared in the air, as if someone had managed to rip the air itself. The tear widened and Naruto could see nothing but black speckled with tiny dots of light. A comet shot past in the background and Naruto's eyes widened even more.

_It's outer space!_ he realized. He started to step towards the tear, but was blocked by the table. He could only stand and watch as a tiny figure began to walk out of the tear.

The figure was a child dressed in purple and black clothes. His arms were bare and his face was covered by a purple hood. He walked casually with his arms folded in the small of his back. The child stepped through the tear and stopped in front of the throne. The strangers on both sides of the table bowed to the child and he bowed back. Naruto slapped his forehead in shock,

"What the hell is this? He's just a little kid!"

"How dare you!" shouted the demonic looking man. "You shall show proper respect to Ryu-uou."

"He's Ryu-uou?" Naruto asked and pointed at the still silent child. "He's a little kid. You're taking orders from a kid younger than Konohamaru!"

The horned man took a step towards Naruto, his clawed hand raised and ablaze to strike Naruto, but froze when the child spoke.

"That's enough Ifrit," the boy said. "He doesn't know any better." He turned to address Naruto. "Welcome to the Nether Naruto. I am Bahamut, Ryu-uou of the Nether."

"Yeah, nice to meet you. Now maybe you can tell me what part of Kumo I'm in and what I'm doing here?"

"You are not in Kumo," Bahamut said. "Or even on your world. Like I said, you are in the Nether, the space that lies between your world and the next. We are the Espers."

"Espers?"

"In the beginning, when the worlds were born, so were we. We are the physical embodiment of the natural elements. There are countless others scattered amongst the worlds, but we six are the most powerful and eldest. You already know Gilgamesh, Esper of the Four Winds," Bahamut said and gestured towards Gilgamesh. The red hooded man eye-smiled and nodded his head. Bahamut continued to introduce the other Espers: Titan of the Earth, Ramuh of Sky and Storm, Ifrit the Fire Demon, and Shiva the Ice Princess.

"And you are here because your world is in danger," Bahamut concluded. "There are an infinite number of worlds and we have the ability to travel to all of them. We have been to your world many times throughout your history. In fact, shinobi exist because of our involvement."

"What do you mean?"

"We are the elements. A situation arose in the development of your world and we taught the early shinobi how to manipulate their energy, what you call chakra, and the elemental affinity that all mortals naturally have."

"Wow, uh thanks," said Naruto, not sure how to react. "But I know that my world is in danger. I mean, between Orochimaru and the Akatsuki…"

"The threat I speak of is far greater than any posed by Orochimaru or the Akatsuki, although all of them will most likely be drawn into the conflict before it is over," Bahamut said and began to walk around the table until he stood behind one of the empty seats. "There used to be more of us here, these seats used to be occupied by friends, even family."

"What happened?" asked Naruto.

Bahamut placed a small hand on the empty throne that sat across from his own. "This seat once belonged to my sister, Tiamat. She and I fought for the title of Ryu-uou when our mother, Cosmos, departed the Nether. It was unpleasant…"

**-X-**

_The two siblings stood across from another inside a large circular arena. The arena had been the location of thousands of performances of the finest actors, musicians, and, in darker times, gladiators. The massive arena was full of hundreds upon thousands of Espers, gathered from the countless worlds with access to the Nether. No matter their station or power or how far they had to travel to be at the arena, attendance was mandatory when a new Ryu-uou was being decided._

_Bahamut stood with shaky hands. He had never been inside the great arena and standing in it now was not the proud or brave experience he had once thought it was. His face remained hidden under his purple hood, but if they could have been seen, his eyes were filled with sadness and regret. He did not want to fight his sister and cursed the archaic rituals mandating the Nether's structure of authority._

_Tiamat had the appearance of a beautiful young woman with silver hair and eyes. She was dressed in a black and gold dress that clung to her athletic body in ribbon-like strands, extending down her neck and out to either side of her chest, although still leaving much of her breasts exposed. A breast plate made from solid adamant was worn overtop the dress, though still exposing the same areas that the dress did._

"_What is taking so long?" she called across the arena. Her voice was low and powerful with a slight snake-like hiss. "I have plans tonight."_

"_We don't need to do this, sister," Bahamut replied. "There must be another way."_

"_There is no alternative, little brother. The throne will be mine and I will not share it with a pathetic whelp like you."_

_Tiamat held out a slender hand and a long spear materialized in a cloud of dark green mist. The shaft was silvery mithril, light but unbreakable, and the blade was crooked and twisted like a snake. The snake-spear dripped with a thick, black puss that stank like a ruined soldier lying upon a battlefield._

_Bahamut's hidden eyes narrowed, he recognized the spear and its deadly intent. "So it is to be like that, then?"_

"_To the death brother," Tiamat sneered and ran her long, forked tongue over her teeth. "Unless you'd rather accept your fate now and allow me to kill you without ruining my hair with sweat."_

_Bahamut's eyes narrowed beneath his hood. Tiamat's words were meant to discourage and frighten him, instead they showed him the truth: he had to fight, there was no alternative. He raised his right hand and a broadsword sprang into existence with a flash of light. The blade was made from purple, blue, and white crystal and glowed like a star._

"_You would fight your own blood?" asked Tiamat._

"_I will do what is necessary," answered Bahamut and he slipped into a strong swordsman stance. He held the broadsword with both hands near his chin with the tip pointed at Tiamat, his legs spread shoulder width apart for balance._

"_You know this trial by combat is only a technicality; everyone knows you are far weaker than I," sneered Tiamat as she slipped into her own stance. She raised her snake spear forward and balanced her weight on one foot. _

_The siblings stared at each other for a long moment before Tiamat let out a loud snarl and leapt into the air. She spiraled in the air before driving her spear down at Bahamut. Bahamut tightened his grip on his sword and jumped backwards at the last moment. Tiamat slammed into the ground, leaving a large crater in her wake. The battle began in earnest._

_Tiamat recovered quickly and dashed at Bahamut, jabbing her spear at him. Bahamut dodged or parried each attack, but was unable to get inside the snake spear's reach to counterattack. It wasn't long before he was giving ground to his sister's assault._

_Bahamut flipped over a low, but wild slash and capitalized on his chance to counterattack. He landed on the spear shaft and ran towards Tiamat, nearly slipping on the black liquid that coated it, and cut at Tiamat's face. Tiamat's eyes grew wide as she craned her head to the side in a desperate attempt to dodge the blow. Bahamut's crystalline blade grazed her cheek and drew blood a thin line of blood on Tiamat's formerly flawless skin._

"_You little worm!" she cursed. She spun on her heel and used her spear to hurl Bahamut into the air. Bahamut rocketed above the stands and twisted in the air to look back down at the arena floor. A wave of panic filled him as he saw Tiamat's spear racing towards him. With no time to react, Bahamut twisted his body into an unnatural arc, nearly snapping his own back in the process. It just wasn't enough…_

_The snake spear flew past Bahamut, tearing a gash in his right side before disappearing in a burst of yellow and green mist. Bahamut let out a cry of pain as he fell from the sky and crashed on the arena floor. The wound on his side burned like nothing Bahamut had ever felt before._

"_How dare you mar perfection?" Tiamat growled over him and her spear materialized inside her hand. "I will have your wings for this!" Tiamat jabbed her spear at Bahamut, scratching and stabbing him lightly like a bee sting instead of skewering him. With each new scratch, Bahamut's pain grew tenfold._

"_Feels like fire burning through your veins, doesn't it?" mocked Tiamat. "My venom is fatal, even to our kind. It doesn't paralyze my victims or even damage their nerves. It just causes extreme amounts of pain right up until the moment it fills your circulatory system and kills you. Course, I don't plan on waiting that long."_

_Tiamat dropped her spear and stretched her arms out wide. She let out a low groan and her body began to grow and change. She grew immensely taller, her dress changing into bone-like scales. A long, forked tail grew beneath her hips and bony spikes unfurled into small, leathery winds on her back. Her hands and feet grew vicious clawed versions. Her head elongated into a serpent-like skull covered in bony growths. A pair of glowing red eyes glared at Bahamut. _

_Tiamat, the Venom Dragon, stood over Bahamut and casually lifted her enormous foot to squash her brother like an insect. Bahamut rolled out of the way and clenched his teeth in pain._

_Tiamat's poison is already starting to work, he thought as a fresh wave of pain slammed into his abdomen. He stared up at his sister and hope his body could withstand the punishment…_

"_You have shown your true face, sister, and it is as black and withered as your heart," Bahamut shouted up at Tiamat. Unable to form words, Tiamat snarled back at Bahamut. Venom dripped from her fangs and sizzled as it struck the ground. She took to the air and beat her wings, hoping to knock Bahamut off his feet. But Bahamut weathered the attack and closed his eyes in focus._

_A quiet exhale of power escaped his lips as Bahamut began his own transformation. Like his sister, he grew to enormous size and his skin turned to black scales. His body became thicker, heavily muscled, and armor-like golden scales covered his chest and stomach. His hand and feet became claws and a long tail grew from his hips. Enormous wings grew upon his back, both wings tipped with curved spikes. A crown of black spikes wreathed his head as let out a powerful roar. Bahamut, the Sky Dragon, had been unleashed._

_Tiamat waited in the sky, unimpressed by her brother's new form. With a trivial wave of her hand, a stream of green fire arced through the air and crashed into Bahamut, consuming the entire area._

_Suddenly a roar cut through the air, louder than the crackling fire, and Bahamut shot out of the blaze, unharmed, and into the air. His massive wings churned the air, blowing spectators from their seats, and forcing Tiamat to cover her face with her claws. Bahamut flew at his sister and slammed his armored shoulder into her stomach. He drove her high into the air and tore at her face and wings with his claws. Tiamat screeched in pain and fought back, biting Bahamut in the neck, pumping more poison into Bahamut's veins. Bahamut tried to push her off, but Tiamat dug her claws into his chest and wrapped her tail around his waist. She slashed at his wings and tore a vicious gash in Bahamut's left wing before he was able to free himself and fly away._

_Body full of poison and with only one good wing, Bahamut slowly half fell/half fluttered back to the ground. Tiamat remained in the air, hovering over her brother, her mouth a grin of fangs. Bahamut tried to stand and fell back to one knee._

_Above him, Tiamat let out a bestial bark that may have served as laughter. Tiamat hovered in place and spread her wings as wide as she could. Purple, green, and black energy began to gather along her wingtips as she prepared to finish Bahamut off. _

_Bahamut glared up at her, teeth clenched, body shaking. Fueled by pure rage, he struggled to all fours and braced his claws into the ground. Blue flames licked the edges of his fanged mouth as he poured every ounce of his remaining energy into his attack._

_Tiamat opened her mouth with a shrill screech and the gathered energy swirled into a sickly green ball in her mouth. On the ground, more energy poured into the blue-white ball forming in Bahamut's mouth._

_The two Dragons released their attacks at the same moment, a blue Mega Flare from the ground and a putrid green Venom Flare from the sky. The two blasts collided into each other halfway between the siblings. The blasts fought for dominance, blue and green energies mixing and repelling each other until they exploded in a gigantic ball of flame. The explosion expanded across the entire arena and high into the sky, hiding both Dragons from sight._

_When the blast faded, both combatants were on the ground in their human forms. Bahamut was burnt and bleeding from a dozen little wounds. Tiamat was also burnt and her dress was torn, scorched, and ruined. _

_How could he have so much power left? she wondered. He should be nothing but a twitching corpse from my poison._

"_No!" she shouted. "I will not lose to such a worthless being! The Nether will be mine!" Tiamat held out her hand and her snake spear materialized back into existence. Using it as a crutch, she stood up and limped towards Bahamut._

_Bahamut rolled onto his stomach and cringed in pain. The poison had nearly filled his body and it was growing harder and harder to breathe. He watched with half-closed eyes as Tiamat limped towards him._

_All this for a silly crown and title, he thought as he pushed himself up to his feet. He staggered at first and nearly fell before his feet steadied. His right arm hung limp at his side, caked in blood, useless. He held out his left hand and his sword flashed into his palm. The crystalline blade that once glowed like the stars had faded, diminished almost to the point of transparency. Bahamut wondered if it could even turn aside Tiamat's spear and then realized that it probably wouldn't matter anyway. He stepped towards her, once twice three times before his feet gave out from under him and he fell onto his wasted arm._

_Tiamat laughed as he brother squirmed in pain on the ground. "How could Mother ever think that you could be Ryu-uou? Look at you; you're like a blabbering baby, crawling on all fours. You don't even deserve a warrior's death."_

_Tiamat tossed her spear away and knelt down on top of Bahamut. She raised her right hand and her lacquered nails grew into razor sharp claws. She slapped Bahamut across his face, cutting rows of lines into his check. She raised her left and slapped him again and again, alternating hands until Bahamut's face was a shredded mass of bloody cuts._

"_Give my regards to our dear Mother when you see her in Hell," Tiamat whispered in Bahamut's ear before kissing him roughly on the lips, pumping more poison into her brother's body._

_Her hands slid down from Bahamut's cheeks and wrapped around his neck. Tiamat squeezed slowly, drawing it out to watch Bahamut's face contort in pain._

"_That's it," she cooed. "Don't fight it. Just slip away and die." Tiamat let out a great laugh, a high pitched screech that sounded frightfully similar to her Dragon form's cry._

_Bahamut clawed at his sister's hands until she batted him away like a fly and squeezed harder. Dark rings began to appear at the corners of his vision and his left hand desperately grouped for something, anything that would break his sister's hold. He had nearly lost all hope when his fingertips grazed the butt of his sword. Bahamut stretched until he could grab its handle. Bahamut pulled the blade towards him and rammed it up into his sister's ribs. He prayed the sword still had the power to pierce her flesh…_

_Tiamat gasped as the blade tore through her dress and flesh. The crystal sword spiked through her guts and stopped on one of her ribs. The blade stuck fast, wedged between two ribs, and remained there as Tiamat slid off Bahamut._

"_You little bastard," she groaned as she stumbled backwards. She tried to pull the sword out but it was stuck fast. All she did was tear her own flesh and make the wound worse. "How could you? I'm your sister."_

"_I gave you a way out earlier, Tiamat," Bahamut said as he stood up. "Take it now. Surrender and we both may still live."_

"_I'd rather die with you than give you the satisfaction!" she spat. With a grunt, she pulled the sword with all her strength. Blood poured from the open wound and Tiamat fell to her knees. _

"_I'll…kill… you," she wheezed and tried to force her body towards Bahamut's, but fell face first into the dirt before she could take a step._

_Bahamut knelt down and picked up his bloody sword. He leveled the point at Tiamat's throat, but didn't strike…_

**-X-**

"I couldn't kill her. Despite everything, she was still my sister," Bahamut said. "I was proclaimed the winner, even if she wasn't dead, and became Ryu-uou. We were both sent to the healers to have our wounds dressed. It took nearly one of your weeks for the last of Tiamat's poison to leave my system."

"What happened to Tiamat?" asked Naruto.

"As soon as she was well enough, Tiamat left the Nether in outrage. Three of her closest friends: Lich, Odin, and Leviathan, left with her. Together the three of them caused unspeakable devastation and destruction to many worlds. We have followed them through countless worlds for many years."

"How long ago did they leave?"

"10,000 of your years," Bahamut said sadly.

"That's a long time to be fighting family," Naruto replied, thinking about his fight with Sasuke. They hadn't been fighting for 10,000 years, but the pain was still the same.

_I wonder what Sasuke's doing now? Kabuto's probably healed his wounds by now. I wonder what horrible nasty things that snake pedophile is making him do…_

"Are you alright?" Bahamut asked. "You look a little green."

"I'm ok," Naruto said, "just thinking about someone. You still haven't explained why I'm here."

"I was getting to that," Bahamut said with a touch of child-like humor in his voice. "Tiamat, Lich, Odin, and Leviathan spilt up and went their own ways over the years, but they have gathered on your world. There is something hidden on your world they want."

"What?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it is as old as time and is powerful beyond measure. And if Tiamat can find it and harness it, then your world and thousands of others will fall into darkness and death."

"So why did you guys drag me out here?" Naruto wondered, confused. "I mean, I'm just an average shinobi, everyone in Konoha thinks I'm worthless," he said, remembering all the terrible things done and said to him over the years. "You should have gotten Ero-Sennin or Baa-chan to help you. They're the strong ones, not me."

"Yes, they are much stronger than you are now," agreed Bahamut. "In fact, nearly all the warriors on your world are stronger than you in one way or another. In the grand scheme of things, your abilities are no more significant than those of an average foot-soldier on thousands of worlds."

"So why didn't you go and get one of them?" Naruto said angrily. "Go to some other world and grab some spiky haired, blonde soldier with a giant sword if you need help."

"You are here because there is something inside you that no one else has," answered Bahamut. Naruto's hand went to the seal on his stomach without thinking and he took a step backwards.

"You mean the Kyuubi?"

"Yes."

"You want to set him free then, let him loose on your old friends?"

"No."

Bahamut's negative response set Naruto back for a moment. "You don't want to free Kyuubi?"

"I could honestly care less if the Kyuubi remains inside you for forever. Lich is using some kind of dark magick to block us from using our full strength in your world," Bahamut explained. "When Ramuh, Titan, and Gilgamesh went for you, they were limited to a mere 15% of their power. Strong enough to deal with normal Shinobi, but they wouldn't have lasted a moment against another Esper. Since our power is blocked on your world, we need another way to stop Tiamat. You, Uzumaki Naruto, will be our vessel."

"What's a vessel?"

"You become our Avatar and wield our full force of our power."

"What? How do I do that?" Naruto shouted.

"Do you always ask this many questions?" muttered a bored Shiva as she picked at her perfect nails.

"How would I know?" Naruto shouted back at her. "What about Kyuubi?"

"Yes," mused Bahamut. "The fox will have to be dealt with before we can proceed. Ramuh, you may begin."

Ramuh stood up from his chair and picked his crooked staff off the floor. "Lift your shirt please."

"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"It is time to wake your tenant and have a little chat."

"And how do you plan on doing that? I can only talk to Kyuubi inside my own head."

"Lift your shirt please," Ramuh repeated, ignoring Naruto's questions. Naruto grumbled something to himself, but did as he was told. Ramuh leaned forward and studied the seal on Naruto's stomach with great interest.

"This is good work. Who ever made this seal was quite the Fuinjutsu master," Ramuh said as he traced his finger over the seal.

"Quit it, that tickles," Naruto stammered between laughs.

"Hold still boy," Ramuh said sternly, "because this next part is probably going to hurt."

Before Naruto could move or even say anything, Ramuh channeled electricity into his fingertips and slammed it into the seal. Naruto screamed as Ramuh pressed his fingers harder and lightning coursed though Naruto's body. A flash of red light burst from the seal and blew Naruto and Ramuh apart. Naruto was flung backwards into the double doors while Ramuh landed hard on top of the table. When the light faded a single figured stood in its place.

The figure was twice as large as a man and stood on four powerful looking legs, although it didn't place a lot of weight on one of its back legs. Nine bottle brushy tails whipped and cracked in all directions behind it. The Kyuubi No Yoko looked at the gathered Espers and its lips curled back to revel jagged fangs.

Naruto struggled to his feet, dizzy from the impact with the doors, and saw the demon fox with its back to him. Naruto gasped in shock and immediately regretted it. Kyuubi's right ear twitched and its nose crinkled. It turned its head and Kyuubi's red eyes widened in recognition.

"_**YOU! I'LL PICK MY TEETH WITH YOUR BONES!"**_ Kyuubi roared. It whirled around and charge at Naruto. All nine tails thrashed in the air as the fox leapt into the air. Naruto turned his head away as Kyuubi bore down on him.

"Stop," Bahamut said quietly as he appeared in front of Naruto. Kyuubi slammed into Bahamut instead of Naruto and a silvery light sprang up around the small boy. Kyuubi rebounded off the barrier and crashed into a pillar, cracking the marble in half. Bahamut turned back and helped a dumbfounded Naruto to his feet.

"How did you do that? What was that silvery light?"

"You do ask a lot of questions," Bahamut smirked. "That light was merely a flimsy barrier to repel Kyuubi's attack. Ramuh, finish it."

"Yes, Ryu-uou. Ifrit, Titan, if you would please restrain Kyuubi for a moment."

Kyuubi stood on shaky legs and shook fragments of marble from its fur. Ifrit and Titan appeared at its sides and grabbed. Titan swept his meaty hands under Kyuubi's front legs yanked Kyuubi off the ground in a full Nelson. Ifrit jumped behind them and gathered all nine tails to keep them from thrashing around. Kyuubi snapped and struggled to free itself.

"_**LET ME GO, YOU BASTARDS! I'LL TEAR YOU ALL TO PIECES!"**_

"Calm yourself, Kyuubi," Ramuh said as he approached. "This will only take a moment."

"_**STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU OLD GEEZER OR I'LL FEED YOUR CORPSE TO THE SQUIRRELS!" **_Kyuubi growled and strained its neck to bite Ramuh. Kyuubi's teeth snapped shut just inches away from Ramuh's nose and beard. Ramuh closed his eyes and coughed from Kyuubi's foul breath. When he opened them, Ramuh's eyes had been replaced by white lightning. He raised his staff and clunked Kyuubi on top of its head.

"That is enough of that," Ramuh scolded. He grabbed the dazed Kyuubi's muzzle with both hands and held the terrible jaws shut. Kyuubi struggled, but Ramuh's steely fingers held tight and he forced Kyuubi to look into his eyes. Ramuh stared into the fox's red eyes, searching and searching, until he spotted a tiny red and black swirl within the pupils.

"You were right, Ryu-uou," Ramuh reported, releasing Kyuubi. "The fox is still under the influence of the Sharingan."

"Can you remove the taint?" asked Bahamut.

"As long as Ifrit and Titan can hold Kyuubi down long enough. For a mere Biju, it is awfully strong."

"Don't worry, we got this," Ifrit said proudly.

"How could Kyuubi have a Sharingan eye?" asked Naruto. "I thought only the Uchiha had them."

"Long ago, Lich gave the Uchiha clan the Sharingan eye as a gift for their loyalty. Their leader, Uchiha Madara used the evolved version of the Sharingan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, to take control of Kyuubi. He took over Kyuubi's mind and filled it with nothing but hate and anger. That is why Kyuubi attacked Konoha."

Naruto clenched his fists and stared at the Kyuubi. _All this time, everyone thought it was all your fault. They blamed you for all the destruction and deaths when you were just as much a victim as we were._

"What's going to happen to it?"

"Ramuh will remove the last remnants of the Sharingan from Kyuubi's mind. After that it will be its decision," said Bahamut and he nodded to Ramuh.

Ramuh twirled his staff above his head and a bright spark appeared on the tip of the staff. He stabbed it into the floor and began to draw a complex glyph on the marble floor. When he finished, he stabbed the glowing staff into the center of the glyph. Lightning burst from the head of the staff and crackled up and down its length. Ramuh twisted it over his head and slammed it back down. Lightning ran along the floor, tracing the glyph and making it glow. The lightning changed colors as it filled the glyph, changing from white to blue. When it finished filling in the glyph, Ramuh tapped the head of his staff three times and the blue glyph glowed. The blue light raced across the ground and leapt into Kyuubi's eyes.

Kyuubi let out a high pitched scream that sounded more human than animal and thrashed against Titan and Ifrit as the light burned away the Sharingan taint. Tendrils of blue lightning lashed away from Kyuubi's face. Ifrit and Titan let go of the demon fox before any of the tendrils struck them as well.

Kyuubi continued to scream as Ramuh poured more of his power into the glyph. Finally, Ramuh fell to one knee, exhausted, and the blue lightning stopped. The glyph faded away until not even Ramuh initial drawing remained, only a few wisps of smoke marred the flawless marble floor.

Kyuubi fell to the ground, smoke wafting from its eyes. Gilgamesh helped Ramuh to his feet while Ifrit and Titan approached Kyuubi slowly.

Kyuubi picked itself up off the floor and starred at the Espers. It slowly backed away, its eyes wide with surprise and perhaps even fear. Ifrit and Titan closed the gap, ready to pounce on Kyuubi if it tried to attack or flee. Kyuubi's tails lashed through the air, but didn't move to attack. Ifrit growled and crouched to attack, his flames growing larger, brighter, and hotter.

"That's enough Ifrit," Bahamut said, stepping forward. "There is no danger anymore, is there Kyuubi?" Kyuubi's tails settled down and it looked at Bahamut warily.

"It's ok," Bahamut reassured the demon fox. Kyuubi looked at him once more before it wrapped all nine tails around its body and burst into a ball of orange flame. The flame was bright, but not hot and left no marks on the floor.

When the flame died, a young woman stood in its place. She was dressed in a flowing white top and skirt. The top was small and tight with only one sleeve. The sleeve covered her left shoulder and flared open just below the elbow. Her right arm and shoulder were left bare. The skirt was short, leaving her midriff open and exposing more of her long, tan legs more than hiding. She had long red hair that flowed like water down her back in long braided tresses. A golden belt was slung low over her hips and a small tattoo was visible just above her hip. It was a circle with nine slashes coming out of its center. Nine slashes for nine tails.

Naruto was completely taken back by the woman's sudden appearance. She was stunning. Naruto had never seen anything or anyone so beautiful. He stood there staring at her, completely unaware of the blood dripping out of his nose.

"What's going on? Where am I?" Kyuubi asked, hugging her arms around her.

**-X-**

"I can't believe the Kyuubi No Yoko is a girl!" exclaimed Naruto for at least the twelfth time.

"You never thought the most powerful Biju on your world could be female?" asked Shiva. Naruto was smart enough not to answer her. Instead he looked towards the conversation Kyuubi was having with Bahamut. He was filling her in on her situation and the Sharingan's effect on her.

"How come she looks so tired and sick?" Naruto asked Ramuh. The Thunder Esper was sitting in his chair, recovering from the difficult Sharingan removal. He was alternating between taking drags off a long wooden pipe and sipping a cup of hot tea.

"Removing the Sharingan took a lot out of her. When Uchiha Madera used the Sharingan to take control of her, he took away Kyuubi's capacity for good. All living beings have equal capacity for both good and evil. Kyuubi was filled with so much anger and hatred that she lost the ability to feel happiness and even rationale. She fell into darkness and was lost for years in a sea of malice and rage. Now she is being assaulted by all the emotions she had been deprieved of, mostly guilt and shame."

"That's horrible," Naruto muttered.

"Words cannot describe it. Lich and Diablos were the only ones I know who could dwell within that darkness simply because they were born from it. Even Tiamat had some capacity for good, no matter how small it may have been," said Shiva.

Bahamut returned to the group with Kyuubi in tow. She didn't look as frightened as she did before, but was still slightly on edge around Naruto and the Espers.

"I've explained what I could to Kyuubi," Bahamut said. "Now that the Sharingan's taint has been removed, she'd like to speak with Naruto alone." The Espers looked at Naruto and at Kyuubi before filing away from the two. They opened their individual portals and left the throne room.

The massive room was silent for a moment as Naruto and Kyuubi, jailer and jailed, stared at each other. Kyuubi broke the stalemate first. She stepped directly in front of Naruto, knelt down, and kowtowed in front of him.

"What are you doing?" asked Naruto, uneasy with her sign of total submission.

"Please forgive me," Kyuubi whispered. "You have suffered so much because of me. I saw all the terrible things that you went through your entire life because of me."

"It wasn't your fault," Naruto said and he gently touched Kyuubi's shoulder. "You were being controlled, right? It was all that damn Uchiha's fault. Now get up, I'm not used to people, let alone all powerful demons, bowing to me."

Kyuubi stood up and looked at Naruto. "You…you don't hate me?"

"Not at all," Naruto replied without pause. "Look, everything that ever happened to me in wake of your attack on Konoha, was the villagers fault. Everyone that attacked me or didn't sell me anything or was a part of the birthday mobs made their choice. Uchiha took your choices away."

"Thank you," Kyuubi said and smiled at Naruto.

Naruto smiled back at her, unable to look away. _She's got a great smile, even if her teeth are a little fangy._

"Stop that," Kyuubi muttered.

"Stop what?"

"Stop staring at me like that."

"Sorry, it's just that every time I saw you inside my head, you were a fuzzy giant fox, not a…"

"Not a girl?" Kyuubi teased when she saw Naruto blush.

"Y-yeah. So what happens now? Are you, you know, free?"

Kyuubi shook her head. "I am still sealed within you. This is just my physical body, my soul and most of my power is still inside you." Kyuubi reached forward and touched Naruto's stomach, tracing the seal over his shirt with a fingernail. "The only way for me to be completely free is if you removed the tag on my cage."

Naruto stared at his feet. "Do you want to be free?"

"Of course I do," answered Kyuubi.

"Well then, let's pop into my mind and do it."

"What?! You can't be serious?"

"Why not? You're not evil anymore so there's no reason for you to still be imprisoned, right?"

Kyuubi stared at her jailer and wondered how a boy that had been through so much pain and sorrow could be so selfless and kind.

"I'm afraid you can't," Bahamut said, appearing from another black tear in space.

"Why not? And where the hell did you come from? I thought you guys were gonna give us some privacy here!" shouted Naruto.

"Because without her, you could never survive the trip back to your own world, let alone become our Avatar."

"That's so not fair! We didn't ask for this!" Naruto started to argue before Kyuubi placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright," she said. "I don't mind staying for a while longer. It will give me time to repay you for all the trouble I caused."

"But you didn't…" Naruto started but was silenced by a glance from Kyuubi. She had made up her mind and he really didn't have a choice if he ever wanted to see Konoha again.

"When do we start?"

* * *

Author's Note: Chapter 3 in the books. I hope you all liked this one. The battle between Bahamut and Tiamat was a lot of fun to write.

I'm sure most of you have noticed that I'm not using just one Final Fantasy game but just about all of them. For example, I used Bahamut's Final Fantasy X human boy form, but used his Final Fantasy VII Dragon form. I'm basically taking my favorite versions of the different Espers and combining them into characters. If anyone out there has questions, concerns, or are just plain confused about something, please send me a PM or something.

As for Kyuubi, she will not be some goodie two shoes so don't even start saying she was OOC in this chapter. Her niceness/apologizing was due to the sudden wave of guilt she felt after the Sharingan was removed. I have definate plans for her during Naruto's training...

Until next time, keep leaving those reviews for me. I haven't gotten too many for this story yet so I'm hoping for that to change in the future.

N.W.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR FINAL FANTASY! If I did, a hell of a lot of changes would be made to both!**

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* * *

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**Naruto: Rise of the Espers**

**Chapter 4**

**Training**

_The Nether_

"There isn't much time," Bahamut said. "Whatever Tiamat and the others are looking for, they will find it. Even if all he shinobi villages were to unite against them, they could only hope to temporarily delay Tiamat."

"And Iwa, Oto, and Kumo would probably sooner join your sister than work with Konoha," mumbled Naruto before looking up at Bahamut. "What's first? Are you going to give me your power now or is there some sort of hocus pocus ceremony first?"

"I'm afraid it isn't nearly that easy," smirked Bahamut. "If we gave you the power of even one Esper all at once, you would explode on the cellular level. You must grow stronger before you can even hope to wield our power. Since your natural affinity is with wind, you will go with Gilgamesh first."

"I'll show you how to use the air as a weapon, how to walk on the four winds, to vanish like a wisp of cloud…" Gilgamesh said before Kyuubi cut him off.

"And I will teach you different shinobi techniques," she said. "Those fools in Konoha did a piss poor job in training you. Why that pervert taught you the Rasengan and not proper chakra control and taijutsu is beyond my reasoning. You're skills are far below what they should be and I will not have my vessel remain a Genin for his entire life. You'll need to learn how to use and control my chakra before it destroys you from the inside out."

"Here," Ramuh said, removing three scrolls from his robes. "Jiraiya gave us these scrolls when we brought you here. He wanted you to have them." Naruto took the scrolls and turned them over.

"You must depart at once," Bahamut said. "Time is short. We do not know how much time we have before Tiamat moves against your world."

**-X-**

_Meanwhile in Konoha,_

Tsunade and Shizune ran out of the Hokage Tower at breakneck speed, their faces flushed with exertion and worry.

_What was that energy?_ worried Tsunade as she ran. _I never felt anything like that, it felt like pure elemental chakra. But you can't perform jutsu with just elemental chakra._

They turned around a corner and spotted Danzo, the Shinobi Clan Heads, and several of the more physically fit civilian council members were running in the same direction.

_Guess they felt it too,_ thought Tsunade. _Can't let them get to Naruto first! _She increased her speed to a level only another Kage could match and blew past Shizune and the council members. She sped through the village and came to a screeching halt near the gate. She found Jiraiya sitting on top of a pile of ROOT ANBU, his feet resting on Boar's head, writing in one of his note books. He looked up from his work and gave her a wave with his pen before he continued to write.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked. "Where's Naruto?"

Jiraiya waited until he finished the sentence he was working on before looking up to answer her. "He's gone," he said and started the next sentence in his notebook.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Tsunade yelled. She stormed forward and knocked the notebook out of Jiraiya's hand, stepping on Boar's spleen in the process. The ANBU let out a high-pitched scream, but neither of the Sannin paid him any attention.

"Naruto and I were attacked by ROOT ANBU before we could leave the village. Naruto was badly poisoned by Boar here," Jiraiya said, giving the still moaning Boar a knock on the back of the head.

"How can you sit here so calmly while Naruto could be dying of poison?" Tsunade shouted and punched Jiraiya in the face with a small portion of her super strength. "You should have brought him to Shizune or me immediately!"

"The gaki is fine Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya sighed and rubbed his jaw. "He's been taken…"

"Jiraiya! You are under arrest!" interrupted Danzo as he and the others arrived at the scene. Tsunade saw Ino, Tenten, and Hinata running up behind the Council members and ANBU.

"For what?" Jiraiya laughed.

"For violating direct orders and trying to flee with Uzumaki Naruto in an effort to avoid the council's verdict on the boy's fate," Danzo said as officially as he could. "You will surrender your Sannin travel permits, weapons, and any jutsu or summoning scrolls on your person."

"Oh no, you have it all wrong, Danzo. Naruto and I were merely going for a bite to eat while your council came to its decision," Jiraiya smiled as innocently as he could. "It was your private ANBU army that attacked us."

"You're a liar!" shouted Haruno Misaki. "It's plain to everyone here that you were trying to escape with the Kyuubi brat!"

"Enough!" shouted Tsunade. "Jiraiya, where is Naruto?"

"Like I said, he's gone."

"He must have escaped while Jiraiya fought the ANBU. Spread out and find him!" ordered Danzo. "Search the village and the forest, he couldn't have gotten far." A dozen ROOT shinobi appeared from the shadows behind Danzo and crouched to shunshin away when Jiraiya laughed.

"You won't find him. Naruto's way past your reach Danzo."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto has been taken by the Espers to the Nether," Jiraiya said as a matter-of-fancy.

"Espers?" asked Tsunade. "Jiraiya, we don't have time for fairytale nonsense."

"Normally, I'd agree with you there, Tsunade-hime, but it isn't nonsense. It wasn't me who beat these ROOT ANBU. The three beings that took Naruto did it effortlessly. I don't think they didn't even break a sweat."

Tsunade's mouth dropped open in shock. _Not even Jiraiya could beat so many ANBU effortlessly without using his Senjutsu. Either the lecher is bluffing to throw Danzo off Naruto's trail or there is something serious going on here._

"This fabrication is more unbelievable than the trash you call books," barked Danzo. "Arrest him!" The ROOT ANBU drew their tipless tantos simultaneously and surrounded Jiraiya.

"Stay where you are!" yelled Tsunade. She stormed forward, releasing a steady trickle of killing intent, and poked Danzo in the chest. It was all the old warhawk could do not to fall backwards.

"I am still Hokage here and Jiraiya is still one of the Sannin. You have no authority over him Danzo!"

"I am sorry to be the one to have to inform you Lady Hokage," Danzo smirked, "but under Council Ordinance 501, addendum 67: the Council has the exclusive right to discipline any Shinobi that violates a Council order."

"Another of your Emergency Acts, you gotta be kidding me," Jiraiya chuckled with an eye roll.

"It is the will of the villagers," said Danzo. "You must have realized, Lady Tsunade, that the people do not want you here. You abandoned the village once and they fear you will again. Many feel that you betrayed the village by driving the last Uchiha in joining Orochimaru and your favoritism towards Uzumaki has made you unpopular amongst the Shinobi ranks and civilians alike."

"The Sandaime had no love for the Uchiha and thought of Naruto like a Grandson," growled Tsunade.

"The Sandaime was a senile old man who didn't know how to be strong!" snapped Danzo. "He never should have been Hokage! Even the Fire Daimyo has given me his support in this matter. You are a figurehead, Tsunade. Know your place and stand aside."

Veins popped out of Tsunade's neck and she lunged forward, grabbing the front of Danzo's robes with her left hand. Her right hand glowed white with chakra as she pulled it back to super punch a crater into Danzo's face.

"I wouldn't do that," Danzo whispered and tilted his head to the right. Tsunade turned and saw Shizune surrounded by Danzo's ROOT, their blades circled around her neck. Jiraiya was likewise surrounded.

"Do it Tsunade!" he shouted, heedless of the blades around him.

"Knock his head all the way to Iwa!" Shizune added.

"Let them go," Tsunade said quietly to Danzo, but only got a burst of laughter in return.

"Go ahead," Danzo snickered. "Knock my head all the way to Iwa. If I die, so will your loved ones. But if I survive, your apprentice and loving teammate will die anyway. And I'm feeling pretty fit today. You're a famous gambler, Tsunade. What do you think their odds are?"

Tsunade's fist shook from the amount of chakra stored within it. She looked over her shoulder and tried to work out every tactical situation in her head. Both Jiraiya and Shizune were completely trapped, they wouldn't even have time to perform a _Kawarimi_ if the ROOT attacked. She slowly lowered her fist and let go of Danzo.

"Congratulations on not being a dumb blonde after all," Danzo smiled and turned to his ANBU. "Take Jiraiya to be interrogated and find out what he did with Uzumaki. Kick Ibiki out if you have to. He and that snake-whore don't get near Jiraiya, understood?"

"You won't get away with this," Tsunade growled.

"It seems I already have, but just in case you and the Kyuubi brat cram your two blonde brain cells together, I think I'll take your mouthy apprentice back to headquarters as well. She can, hmm, entertain us while keeping you in line."

"You bastard…"

"Now, now, don't start with the name calling Tsunade. Shizune will be fine, so long as you play nice and do exactly what I say..."

**-X-**

Hinata trembled as ROOT ANBU slapped chakra suppression cuffs on Jiraiya and Shizune before marching them away. She looked at Tsunade, her Hokage, and instead of seeing a strong leader, she saw a broken and defeated woman. Beside her, Ino and Tenten were in similar states of shock. Tenten especially, since Tsunade was her idol.

"What just happened?" Ino muttered.

"I—I don't know. What do you think they're going to do to Jiraiya-sama and Shizune-san?"

"I don't think I want to know," said Tenten with a shiver. "What's going to happen to us?"

"What do you mean?"

'Well, if Tsuande-sama isn't in charge anymore, who's going to assign missions or be in charge of the Shinobi teams?" asked Tenten. She looked at Hinata for an answer, but the Hyuuga heiress was staring off at the village gate.

_Naruto-kun…where did you go? Please come back, I think Konoha is going to need you soon,_ thought Hinata.

**-X-**

_Unknown_

A vortex of wind appeared in a hidden forest and flung Naruto into a groove of bamboo stalks. He crashed into several stalks, fell to the ground, and promptly retched onto the forest floor. Behind him, the whirlwind slowed and stopped around Gilgamesh and Kyuubi. They stood, impatiently tapping a foot and twirling a finger, as Naruto finished emptying his stomach.

"Welcome to my home away from home! C'mon kid, we're wasting daylight," Gilgamesh complained.

"It's not my fault," burped Naruto as he whipped his mouth with his sleeve. "You just suck at these portal things."

"Gilgamesh and I got through just fine, gaki," yawned Kyuubi. "You're just going to have to suck it up until you're used to it."

"Yeah well, you two aren't exactly human either," argued Naruto as he straightened himself out. He picked up the large pack that flew out of the portal with him and heaved it onto his shoulder. "And why am I the only one carrying anything?"

"Gods, all you do is complain and ask questions, no wonder you're still a Genin" snapped Gilgamesh. "You're carrying everything because I told you to and you'll never become a proper gentleman like me if you let a lady carry a pack like a common mule."

"Since when do gentlemen read Ero-Sennin's smut?"

"IT IS NOT SMUT! Jiraiya is the greatest mortal writer in the known universe!" Gilgamesh yelled and clutched his precious autographed copy to his chest. Naruto and Kyuubi sweatdropped when tears formed in Gilgamesh's eyes and a strange looking sun appeared in the background. It reminded Naruto of when Gai-sensei and Bushy-Brows hugged and it sent a shiver up and down his spine.

Kyuubi formed a ball of ghostly-blue fox fire in her right hand and flung it at Gilgamesh, aiming for his book. Gilgamesh snapped out of his "I love Icha-Icha" trance and pulled the book out of harm's way. The fox fire splashed harmlessly across his cloak covered back, not even leaving a single scorched mark.

"Hey! Be careful with that stuff," Gilgamesh shouted and quickly inspected his book for any damage. "This is my special limited edition…" he started to say, but was silenced by another ball of fox fire crashing into his face. It knocked his face back, but didn't harm the Esper.

"Rule #1," Kyuubi said, tossing a new ball of fox fire into the air and catching it again like a baseball, "keep the porn away when I'm around. If I see it, I burn it."

"But…" Gilgamesh started to argue, but Kyuubi's hard glare put him down and he grudgingly put his book away. When Naruto started to laugh, he whirled around and yelled at the boy.

"What are you laughing at gaki? Go setup camp, we've got training to do!" Naruto waved and walked away, still laughing along the way. He quickly setup a small tent and gathered sticks for a fire. When he finished, Naruto ran back to Gilgamesh and Kyuubi, eager to begin training.

"So what's first?" he asked. "Are you going to teach me how to fly or open a portal, Gilgamesh-sensei? Or are you going to teach me how to create that fox fire stuff?"

"Put this on and drop that sensei garbage," Gilgamesh said and handed Naruto a red cloak and hood similar to his own. Naruto took it and fell flat on his face.

"What is this thing? It must weigh a ton!" he complained as he stood up, leaving the cloak on the ground.

"Pick that up and put it on!" Gilgamesh ordered. "We need to whip you into better shape before we begin the really hard stuff." Naruto did as he was told and put the cloak on. He clasped the cloak into place and struggled to stand upright. "Now run."

"What do you mean run? I can barely stand in this thing!"

"Sounds like you aren't interested in training. Well motivation's on the way," Gilgamesh laughed and nodded to Kyuubi. She nodded back with a feral smile and brought her left index and middle fingers to her forehead. She closed her eyes in concentration and burst into a ball of orange flame. The flame contorted and whirled from the outline of an attractive young woman to the shape of a massive four-legged beast. With a rush of hot air, the fire swirled to the ground to revel nine tails swishing through the air and the full sized Kyuubi No Yoko growled down at Naruto.

"**You get a ten second head start**," Kyuubi said to Naruto with a fangy smile.

"What're you gonna do, chase me? No way, I'm not some rabbit for you to chase down and eat," Naruto said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever you say kid," Gilgamesh shrugged. "Time's up."

Kyuubi stepped towards Naruto and bared her fang filled mouth at the boy. But Naruto wasn't frightened and stuck his tongue out at the fox. Gilgamesh cringed when he saw Kyuubi's eyes narrow.

A bushy tail darted forward and slapped Naruto across the chest, knocking him into the air. Naruto screamed as he landed and skipped across the ground. He looked up and saw Kyuubi in the air leaping towards him. Another tail speared into the ground to his left, then to his right, and a third pierced the ground in between his legs. Naruto scrambled backwards on his rear end, stood up, and started to run. It was difficult, painful, and agonizingly slow beneath the cloak's weight.

Gilgamesh stood back and laughed as the Biju chased her vessel across the forest, battering him with one of her tails whenever he slowed down. "Keep going Naruto!" he yelled across the forest as he pulled his book out. "We can't move on until you can dodge her tails effortlessly!" He heard Naruto let out a groan, followed by a hard _slapping_ sound and the snapping of a bamboo stalk. He smiled beneath his mask and opened his book to the next chapter.

**-X-**

_6 hours later…_

It was growing dark when Kyuubi walked back to the camp carrying Naruto's limp body with one of her tails. The boy was covered in dirt, leaves, bruises, and was sporting a jagged gash on his right arm. Gilgamesh heard her approach and quickly hid his book before Kyuubi saw it.

"You know, I gotta admit, the kid's got stamina," he said as Kyuubi set Naruto's unconscious body down beside the campfire. She stepped back and reverted to her human form once again.

"You didn't expect Naruto to last more than an hour," Kyuubi said. "Even I didn't expect him to last more than three."

"I notice you stopped taking it easy on him after that three hour mark too," smirked Gilgamesh.

"I never took it easy on him," Kyuubi replied defensively. "I just didn't use fox fire or jutsu for the first three hours."

"That invisibility jutsu was a nice touch," Gilgamesh complimented.

Naruto began to stir and slowly opened his eyes. He tried to sit up but couldn't move his tired muscles under the weight of the cloak. "A little help here."

Kyuubi smiled at Naruto and pulled the heavy cloak off him. She tossed it to the other side of the campfire and it made a small crater in the forest floor.

"Just how much did that thing weigh?" Naruto asked as he cracked his neck.

"Only four times your normal body weight," Gilgamesh answered causally.

"Are you trying to kill me? Not even Bushy-Brows trains like that, well at least not every day."

"Yeah, well we don't have enough time to break you in slowly. So, Bahamut said to train you the Esper way"

"And what's the Esper way?" Naruto asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Train everyday until your bones snap, your muscles rip, and your blood boils. Then get Faerie to heal you and do it again the next day."

"You gotta be kidding me," grumbled Naruto. "So are you gonna call Faerie over here to heal me tonight?"

"Nope," laughed Gilgamesh.

"I'll heal you," said Kyuubi. "While my physical body is here sitting next to you, my soul and most of my power remains within you. My power is already healing your body and making you stronger. Tonight, while you sleep, the addition of my physical self will put you into a healing trance and increase your healing tenfold."

"Sounds great," Naruto groaned as he stood up. He waddled, hunched over, towards the tent, made it three steps, and fell flat on his face, sound asleep. Gilgamesh chuckled and shook his head.

"Poor gaki. Least he's getting some rest. He'll need it tomorrow."

Kyuubi didn't laugh or even smile. She stood up and carefully picked Naruto up. She cradled him in her arms and carried him towards the tent.

"Why do you care so much for him?" Gilgamesh asked before she stepped into the tent. "He's your jailer, your prison."

"Because he'll endure whatever you throw at him and smile back at you. Because, jailer or not, he'd die before he'd give up on me, you, or even those that hate him back in Konoha," Kyuubi said and stepped into the tent.

"He may have to," Gilgamesh whispered and added another branch to the campfire.

**-X-**

Naruto was snoring lightly when Kyuubi entered the tent. She smiled slightly at her now sort of jailer. It was strange being free to move around the world again and still be contained inside the boy. She loved the freedom, but hated knowing that it wasn't permanent.

_Well not yet anyway,_ she thought. _Naruto was all for setting me free back at the Esper's council. He would have too if he didn't need me to survive those transformations they mentioned. Maybe when this is all over, he'll follow up on that._

She walked over to the sleeping boy and knelt down beside Naruto. His body was stiff and covered in bruises from the heavy cloak. His breaths were shallow and labored, every inhale was accompanied by a wince and grimace. She reached out and carefully rolled Naruto onto his back, humming softly.

_Of course, freedom is irrelevant considering we're probably not going to survive any of this._

Kyuubi closed her eyes and burst into a crackling ball of fire. The fire was bright, but didn't burn Naruto or the tent. The Kyuubi-shaped fire floated into the air and dove into the seal.

With Kyuubi's physical body back inside the seal, Naruto's healing factor increased tenfold. His breathing returned to normal, like a massive weight had been taken off his chest, and his bruises started to fade.

Inside her seal, Kyuubi walked around her broken cage. The door was still leaned up against its hinges and the bars remained bent and twisted from before. She sighed and tied her long hair back before getting to work. With her tails, she was able to straighten out the thick golden bars and popped the door back on its hinges. She was happy to see that it now swung open for her willingly. Her repair work finished, she looked out at the rest of the mindscape. It was still a dark, dank sewer with water dripping from rusty and broken pipes.

"I really need to get Naruto to fix this place up," she muttered before clearing off the thin pad she had always used as a mattress and fell into a light sleep.

**-X-**

Naruto opened his eye as dawn broke through the folds of the tent. He slowly sat up, expecting to hurt all over. But instead, he felt great!

"What's going on?" he wondered as he looked the spot on his arms that had been cut when he entered the tent the night before. It was gone, not even a scab or scar remained. He looked down and saw his chest was clear of injuries too. His eyes traveled down to his stomach and the slightly glowing seal.

_Guess Kyuubi went back inside the seal to heal me,_ Naruto thought, touched that Kyuubi would give up her freedom and return to the seal.

Naruto didn't hear Gilgamesh outside the tent so he was in no hurry to get up. He loitered inside the tent, twirling a kunai between his fingers and looking for something to eat. He opened up the heavy pack Gilgamesh made him carry and found a bundle of thick wafers wrapped in a shiny white cloth. He unwrapped it and picked one of the wafers up. It was thick, like a piece of bread, and had a sweet smell about it. He broke off a corner and popped it into his mouth. It tasted plain, but pleasant and Naruto took another bite as he went through the rest of the pack.

There wasn't any other food in the pack, but Naruto found the three scrolls Ramuh had handed him before the left. Each scroll was adorned with a different style and colored seal. Naruto recognized Tsunade's simple chakra lock seal on the thinnest scroll, as well as Jiraiya's Toad seal on the thickest, but he didn't recognize the third scroll's seal at all.

He set the mystery scroll on the ground beside Jiraiya's and placed his thumb on Tsunade's seal. He focused his chakra into his thumb, slowly adding more and more until he found the exact amount needed to open the scroll. When he did, the lock popped open and he unrolled the scroll.

_Dear Naruto,_

_I don't have much time to write this; you and Jiraiya have to get out of the village as soon as possible before the Council tries something._

_I'm so sorry for the way things happened here. The Sandaime, bless his heart, was too old and trusting and let that teme Danzo collect too much power. Until I can get an audience with the Fire Daimyo, there isn't much I can do except send you off with Jiraiya. Listen to him Naruto, I asked him to step up your training. You can't be Hokage unless you get stronger right? But so help me Kami, if you become a super-hentai like Jiraiya, I swear I'll make sure you'll never be able to have children or eat solid food again._

_I'm giving Jiraiya another scroll, one that the Sandaime had locked away in a hidden vault with a note saying it was for you. It wasn't to be given until you were a Jonin or sixteen years old, but since I don't know how long you'll be gone, I'm giving it to you now. I tried to open it and see what it said, but the blood seal Hiruzen-sensei put on it rejected me. To open it, just smear a little bit of blood on the clasp and it should open. If it doesn't, have Jiraiya look at it. He was always better at seals than I was._

_I love you gaki, come home safe to me soon. Just not like last time ok? Declaring you dead once was enough, I'll kill you if you make me do it again._

_Oba- Chan_

Naruto chuckled as he rolled the scroll back up. He understood that Tsunade was probably the most screwed up surrogate maternal role model in the universe, but he wouldn't trade her for anything.

Naruto picked up Jiraiya's scroll and placed it on the ground in front of him. "This one better not be blank with "Perseverance" written at the very end," Naruto muttered as he made the Tiger, Rooster, Boar, and Ram seals. Trickles of green chakra dripped from Naruto's fingers and fell onto the scroll. The Toad Seal glowed white for a moment and the lock opened. Naruto closed his eyes as he rolled open the scroll, afraid he was going to be stuck with another blank scroll.

The scroll wasn't blank, although Naruto had to unravel nearly a foot of the scroll before he saw any writing. There wasn't a letter or even a note from Jiraiya, instead it was all training diagrams, jutsu notes, and a lot of information about something called Senjutsu. Naruto quickly counted all the different types of Shinobi skills he know of in his head: Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu. He never remembered Iruka-sensei mentioning Senjutsu or gathering Natural chakra.

He put Jiraiya's scroll away, deciding that Gilgamesh's and Kyuubi's training was enough without adding anything else, and picked up the Sandaime's scroll. Naruto bit his thumb like he was going to summon a Toad and smeared a drop on the clasp. The lock sprang open and the scroll unrolled itself.

_Dear Naruto,_

_This document was bestowed upon me by your father. He left specific instructions to me that it was not to be given to you achieved the rank of Jonin or your sixteenth birthday. I am sorry I held this from you for so long. I hid the document within this scroll, all you need to do is smear a drop of your blood onto the bottom right hand corner and it will appear._

_Again, I am sorry for the ills that have been bestowed upon you Naruto, I did what I could, when I could, but sadly, an old man, even a Hokage, can only do so much. That is my shame and I will bear it for the rest of my days. Know that I loved you as much as my own blood and ever wish only the best for you._

_Old Man_

Naruto wiped away a single tear from his cheek. He knew the Old Man had tried to protect and help him as much he could. It was the Council that had always tried to keep him down and allowed the villager's to hate him, that was all too clear now.

Naruto scratched off the scab on his thumb and smeared a new drop of blood on the bottom right hand corner of the Sandaime's scroll. A smaller piece of parchment appeared on top of the Sandaime's writing in a puff of grey smoke. Naruto wiped his thumb on his pant leg and picked up the piece of parchment.

_Dear Naruto,_

_As I write this letter to you, the son I will never know, the Kyuubi-No-Yoko is rampaging towards Konoha. It is only a matter of time before it arrives and nothing will stop it from leveling everything that I love. Your mother, Kushina, is lying in a hospital bed, dying. The doctors say it will take a miracle for her to survive the Kyuubi's attack. I know she would want to write in this scroll is she could, but she can't right now. I know she would say that she loves you with all her heart and that she'll be proud of you always._

_All I want to do right now is to hold you in my arms beside my wife. But I can't. I can't because if I don't go out and lead Konoha's shinobi against the Kyuubi, if we don't stop that fox, then it really won't matter, will it? If the Kyuubi No Yoko is allowed to march on Konoha unopposed then you and your mother will die anyway. I will not let that happen!_

_There is little hope for victory in battle. Even if I had an army of Sannin, the Kyuubi is the strongest Biju, almost a rival to the mythical Espers. There is a way to defeat it, but I am afraid of it and what it means. Doing it means my death and will change your life forever, but not doing it could mean the death of everyone in Konoha, including you and Kushina._

_If my hand is forced, I'm afraid that you will have to play a part in this Naruto. To properly seal away the Kyuubi, I need to seal it into a person. Since the enormous amount of demonic chakra would tear an adult apart, a newborn child must be used for the Kyuubi's jail._

_Naruto, I am sorry for the burden you will be forced to bear, but I can't ask another family to make this sacrifice. It is our family's destiny to stop the Kyuubi and make sure this never happens again. I'm sorry I won't be there to see you grow up, but know that I will always be with you. Grow strong and never let anyone stand in the way of your dreams. You'll be a hero for containing the Kyuubi and as a hero, you need to rise above the others and be the very best you can be. I know you'll do great things Naruto._

_Love,_

_Namikaze Minato_

_Yondaime Hokage_

_PS: Keep an eye out for your Godfather Jiraiya of the Sannin. He was my sensei and is the only one who can reinforce the Kyuubi's seal if anything should happen. He's quite the hentai so always look near the hot springs first._

Naruto read the letter three times and each time was as shocking and amazing as the last. He turned it over in his hands, looking for some clue or tell that would reveal the letter to be a forgery. But there was nothing.

_The Yondaime was my father! _Naruto thought. _The greatest Shinobi in history was my dad...t__hat sonofabitch!_

Naruto crammed the parchment back into the Sandaime's scroll and rolled it back up. The hair on the back of his neck bristled up and he ground his teeth together in anger. His fingernails grew into claws and the whisker marks on his cheeks darkened.

_How could he do that to his own kid? _he thought. _How could he seal a Biju into his own son? How could he go out and fight when his wife was dying in a hospital bed and then use his son as a sacrifice without even knowing if she was still alive?_

Naruto shoved the scroll back into his pack and pulled out the rest of the wafer-bread he started eating earlier. He quickly ate the rest of the packet and stormed out of the tent, pulling the heavy cloak over his shoulders as he went.

"Hey, Ero-Esper! Wake up!" he shouted and lightly kicked Gilgamesh's sleeping form.

"What the hell do you want gaki?" Gilgamesh muttered and tucked his cloak under his chin like a blanket.

"Weren't you the one yesterday complaining about wasting daylight? Let's go, start training me for this transformation stuff!"

"You're not ready yet," the Wind Esper grumbled and rolled over. "You'd be ripped to pieces by my power."

"Well then show me something else! I—I need to do something right now," Naruto growled. His anger began to flare again and his hair grew shaggy and into feral spikes.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Gilgamesh asked. When Naruto shook his head, Gilgamesh sat up with a tired groan. "Alright gaki, we might as well get started for the day. Since Kyuubi is still asleep inside the seal, the lucky wench, we'll start with your nature manipulation."

"Nature Manipulation?" asked Naruto. His mind tumbled back to his lessons at the Academy; he couldn't remember Iruka-sensei saying anything about manipulating nature.

"I'm a wind Esper, kid, I manipulate air. My element, and yours, is wind. We have the ability to use the air around us as a weapon. We can even create air where there is none."

"When is there no air?" Naruto asked curiously.

"You'd be surprised. Anyway, the first step to using the wind element is learning how to generate it and cut something with your chakra," Gilgamesh said as he stood up. He remained hunched over and picked an oval shaped green leaf off the ground. He pinched it between his thumb and forefinger and held it in front of Naruto. "Watch closely," Gilgamesh said and raised his other forefinger. He made a single flicking gesture with his free finger and the leaf fluttered to the ground in two clean pieces.

"And that is wind manipulation," Gilgamesh said proudly. He held his arms out and waited for Naruto's expression of amazement, envy, and jealousy.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just use a blade? Naruto asked as he cut another leaf with a kunai. Gilgamesh sweet dropped and nearly slapped Naruto.

"Wise-ass kid. You think you're so smart, huh? All right, I'll make a bet with you. If you can cut something faster with your blade than I can with my wind, I'll wear your cloak and be Kyuubi's rabbit today. But if you can't, you wear ankle weights while you run too."

"Deal!" Naruto said immediately and held out his hand. Gilgamesh took it and gave it a firm shake.

_Sucker,_ Naruto and Gilgamesh thought while eyeing each other up.

"I'll go first," Naruto said and picked up a trio of thin logs he had gathered for the campfire.

"Knock yourself out kid."

Naruto smirked at Gilgamesh and tossed the logs into the air. He jumped after them and, in three flashes, split the three logs in half with his kunai. He landed with his arms crossed over his chest as the six pieces fell around him.

"Beat that, Ero-Esper," he boasted with a fox-like grin.

"Not bad kid, not bad at all," Gilgamesh nodded and disappeared in a flash of red. When he reappeared, he was holding Naruto's kunai.

"Hey! How did you do that?" yelled Naruto as he stared at his empty hand. Gilgamesh ignored Naruto and tossed the kunai into the air.

A cone of wind appeared and wrapped around Gilgamesh's hand like a miniature tornado. He jumped after the kunai and slashed at it twice. The Blade of Wind cut through the metal blade like paper and the four pieces fell. Naruto caught one of the pieces and ran his finger over the cut. It was smooth as silk.

"I'll be setting up your ankle weights. Try generating chakra to cut a leaf for now. When you get that down, we'll move on to reversing waterfalls with your chakra," Gilgamesh smirked as he floated over Naruto's head.

Naruto swore under his breath as Gilgamesh floated off. _He set me up,_ he growled as he picked a leaf up and tried to cut it with his chakra. The chakra burst from Naruto's hand, blowing the leaf away, but not cutting it.

"Aw man," Naruto muttered as he picked up a new leaf and tried again.

**-X-**

_Three months later…_

"C'mon kid, run!" yelled Gilgamesh. "She's gonna get you for sure if you don't hustle!"

"I—am—running!" Naruto panted as he struggled to move with the weighted cloak over his shoulders and the heavy ankle weights on his legs. Kyuubi trotted lightly behind him in her fox form, her tails wagging happily.

This had become routine for Naruto. Every day he woke up, ate, and worked on perfecting wind chakra and jutsu. It took him a whole week to learn how to generate wind chakra and cut a leaf and it took an addition month of training and practice before he could redirect a waterfall. It had been a wet experience…

After he learned how to properly generate wind chakra, Kyuubi began teaching him how to create _Futon_ jutsu, while Gilgamesh continued to punish/train his body. Naruto's _Kage Bushin _came in handy; they worked on different jutsu leaving the real Naruto to train with Gilgamesh or be chased by Kyuubi.

Naruto's body had changed drastically in the short amount of time. All his remaining baby fat had been burned away and his body had become slim and compact. Gilgamesh's brutal sessions during the day left Naruto's muscles ragged and broken, but Kyuubi's nightly healing sessions repaired them and made them stronger and denser. Naruto's strength increased tenfold, but he wasn't slowed down by bulky muscles.

Gilgamesh winced as Kyuubi pounced on top of Naruto and pinned him to the ground. Naruto struggled between two of Kyuubi's claws, but he couldn't budge the massive toes. Kyuubi chuckled, which was a truly incredible and strange sight to behold, before releasing Naruto.

Kyuubi burst into flames and reappeared in human form. She knelt down and offered Naruto her hand.

"You're getting better Naruto-kun. Even with Gilgamesh increasing the weights every day, you're still getting faster. I actually had to run a little bit that time," she smiled.

"Thanks Kyu-chan, I think," grinned Naruto and took her hand. Kyuubi helped him to his feet and Naruto nearly stumbled back over beneath all the weight on his back and shoulders.

"Argh, these weights are killer," Naruto complained as he straightened out. "Give me a second and I'll be ready to go again."

"By the time we're finished with you, you'll be able to go all night kid," laughed Gilgamesh until Kyuubi glared at him.

_Pervert stole my line, _thought Kyuubi. _I was going to say that._

"Rest's over Naruto," Kyuubi said. "Today we're going to start the next step of your training. You're strong enough to learn how to control my chakra."

"And since you can finally generate wind chakra with some real success, it's time to start your Kenjutsu training too," added Gilgamesh.

"Kenjutsu? I'm a shinobi, not a samurai," said Naruto.

"Kenjutsu is an ancient and powerful martial art that everyone who is involved in close combat should know. Your little shinobi kunai and shuriken are cute and fine for assassinations and against other shinobi, but you take the greatest shinobi in existence with a kunai and their skills pale in comparison to a master swordsman like myself," Gilgamesh boasted.

"He's right Naruto," interrupted Kyuubi. "And a blade is a natural extension for wind chakra and attacks.

_Fox stole my line,_ thought Gilgamesh. _I was going to say that. _He shot a glare at Kyuubi, but got a smirk in return. Growling to himself, he pulled out a pair of long wooden sticks. He tossed one to Naruto and the teen caught it with one hand.

"What's this?" Naruto asked as he twirled the stick over in his hands.

"It's called a _bokken_, a wooden sword used in training," Gilgamesh explained. "What? You didn't expect me to teach you with a live blade, did you? You're not worthy of steel yet. Now, en guard!"

Gilgamesh swiped his _bokken_ at Naruto's chest. Naruto quickly leapt out of the way and fumbled with his _bokken_. He held the wooden sword like a kunai and it wavered awkwardly in his hand.

Gilgamesh smacked himself in the forehead. "Don't hold it like a kunai! Use both hands with your right hand below your left. Don't stack them," Gilgamesh instructed before he lunged at Naruto again. Naruto nearly tripped over his own feet, but managed to successfully block Gilgamesh's attack.

"Better," Gilgamesh praised before striking Naruto in the right shoulder. Naruto let out a grunt of pain as his entire arm went numb. "But don't drop your guard."

Naruto struggled to his feet and winced as he raised his sore arm. He stepped into a wavering stance and swung at Gilgamesh's head. The Esper blocked the attack effortlessly. Naruto growled and attacked again, aiming for different areas on Gilgamesh's body.

"Spread your legs and stand strong," Gilgamesh said as he blocked and parried. "Move your feet, keep your hips beneath your shoulders. And whatever you do…"

Naruto leapt at Gilgamesh, aiming the tip of his _bokken_ at Gilgamesh's chest like a spear. Gilgamesh sighed and sidestepped Naruto's attack.

"Don't overextend yourself," Gilgamesh finished and drove the blade of his _bokken_ deep into Naruto's stomach. Naruto collapsed onto his hands and knees as all the air rushed out of his body.

"You can't rush in headfirst like that," Gilgamesh said as he stood over Naruto. "You need to control and calculate your movements before you can ever hope to control the outcome of a battle."

Naruto glared up and growled at Gilgamesh. "I'm not Shikamaru okay? I don't plan out every single thing twenty moves before hand!"

"Then give up, because unless you can learn how to wield a blade, you'll never be able to wield my power or have a prayer to wield any of the others—" Gilgamesh started to say until a wave of chakra caused him to stop and step back.

Tendrils of blue and red chakra whipped and lashed around across Naruto's back. More red chakra pulsed as Naruto slowly stood up. His fingernails and canines elongated into claws and fangs, his blonde locks grew longer and spikier, and his whisper marks became more pronounced.

"Listen to me Gilgamesh," Naruto growled as his pupils became slits and his irises changed from blue to red. His voice was deeper and rougher. "You can beat me down, blow me up, and cut me to ribbons. I'm used to it. But never suggest or even think something like that again. I will never give up!"

With a roar, a new wave of red chakra sprung off Naruto's body, a single tail of Kyuubi's chakra lashed from side to side behind Naruto. The chakra slammed into Gilgamesh, causing his cloak to flutter wildly behind him, nearly unmasking the Esper.

_He's channeling and controlling my chakra even when I'm outside the seal,_ she thought and a proud smile blossomed across her face. _I wasn't sure if he'd be able to do that. You certainly are full of surprises Naruto-kun._

Kyuubi watched as the red tentacles of chakra began to shrink as Naruto's rage faded. Panting, he straightened out and stepped into a much better Kenjutsu stance, his _bokken_ pointed straight forward, his hands drawn close and parallel to his chin. Naruto held his stance and waited.

"You might have a shot after all kid," Gilgamesh chuckled as he readjusted his mask and hood. He raised his _bokken_, holding it across his body in a reverse grip. "Now show me everything you got!"

**-X-**

_Five Days Later…_

"I can't believe he actually did it," Gilgamesh muttered and tied the last weight onto his leg.

"_Kage Bushin_ are a fantastic creation," Kyuubi replied. "The ability to learn everything a clone experiences is an incredible training tool."

"Yeah, how did Naruto ever find out about that?" Gilgamesh asked and shot a death glare at Kyuubi. The fox demon raised her hands in innocence.

"Don't blame me; you're the one that made the bet."

"C'mon Ero-Esper," Naruto called out. He was sitting on a large rock with a steaming bowl of miso ramen in his lap. His _bokken _laid on the ground, broken in two pieces, a pale green glow on its edge. "You're not going to wimp out on our bet now, are you?"

"I never back out of a bet gaki," Gilgamesh snapped. "Not even one as stupid as this one."

"How is it stupid? It was your idea," countered Naruto. He sat up straighter on his rock and took a deep breath.

"To master Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū style and the Blade Beam technique requires intense chakra control and manipulation," Naruto said in his best Gilgamesh impression. "Something you lack in massive quantities. Even with my expert teaching and Kyuubi's constant tutoring, it will take you at least a month before you can manage to even produce a Blade Beam, let alone one strong enough to break your _bokken_ and advance your training."

Kyuubi nearly fell over laughing.

"In fact, I'll make you a little wager," Naruto continued. "If you can manage to master even one step of the Blade Beam technique, I will treat you to a ramen dinner and I will be Kyuubi's rabbit for the day."

"I KNOW WHAT THE BET WAS!" Gilgamesh roared.

"I just wanted to make sure you remembered everything," Naruto said innocently as he slurped his ramen. "Especially the part about how I mastered your sword style and special technique in only five days and that you'd wear enough weights to make your speed the same as mine."

"I know, I know! I'm wearing them, see?" Gilgamesh said and pointed to the weights. "I can barely move with these things on!"

Kyuubi let out one last laugh before transforming into her demon form.

"**You get a ten second head start,"**Kyuubi said with a feral grin.

_Six Hours Later…_

"I hope you're happy now, kid," Gilgamesh groaned as he limped through camp. "Everything from my eyebrows down hurts like hell."

"Welcome to my world, Ero-Esper," shrugged Naruto. He hopped down from his rock and put his empty ramen bowl down. "So what's next? I mean, I don't exactly have a _bokken_ to train with anymore."

"You mastered the Blade Beam kid," Gilgamesh grumbled. "You're ready for steel."

"So now I'm worthy?"

"I said ready, not worthy," corrected Gilgamesh. "C'mon. I'm going to enjoy this."

"Enjoy what?" Naruto said just before Gilgamesh grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him through a portal.

**-X-**

The portal opened over a red cobblestone road…ten feet over a red cobblestone road. Naruto fell out of the whirling vortex and landed face first on the stone, his nose turning painfully to the left. Ignoring the pain in his face, he scrambled on all fours to the side of the road and retched into a small bush.

"How's that miso ramen now?" laughed Gilgamesh as he gently floated out of the portal.

"You're a sadistic teme, you know that?" Naruto groaned and wiped his mouth. "Where's Kyuubi?

"Must've left her behind, what a shame. C'mon let's get going," Gilgamesh said, tightening his cloak. "The Festival of the Hunt starts soon and Cid will be closing up early to get to the nearest tavern for the start."

_I'm right here Naruto, _Kyuubi whispered inside of Naruto's head. _I managed to jump back into the seal just before the portal closed._

Naruto smiled, the now familiar presence of the fox making him feel better, more comfortable. He slowly picked himself up off the ground and stared at his surroundings. He was in a city, surrounded by lofty buildings and colorful awnings. Billboards and playbills lined the street, displaying advertisements for dozens of plays. Naruto heard voices and spun around in time to see a troupe of actors walk by. They were led by a large, bearded man wearing goggles. Behind him was a strange looking man with a bulbous nose, two men with bandanas covering their faces, two creatures in black masks and silver gloves, and a blonde teen with a monkey tail. The tailed teen caught sight of Naruto and gave him a wave. Naruto raised his hand numbly in return.

"Where are we?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"This is Gaia, Mist Continent, the regency of Lindblum, more specifically the Theater District," Gilgamesh answered. "The Air Cab is this way." Gilgamesh led Naruto up a flight of stairs and into the cabin of a boat-like structure. They were the only ones on board. Naruto sat down on a plush leather bench and stared out the window.

"What is this thing, I thought you said it was some sort of air carriage?"

"Just hang on to something gaki and try not to make a scene," Gilgamesh said with an eye roll as the Air Cab rumbled to life and began to fly across the city. Naruto's nose pressed against the window as the Air Cab weaved between buildings and passed other Air Cabs in the process.

"That's the Industrial District over there," Gilgamesh pointed out. "The Lindblum Grand Castle is that massive structure with all the walls, Burmecia is North, Trento is West, Alexandria is Northwest just on the other side of the Evil Forest, and before you ask, Konoha isn't on this world."

"We're on a different world!"

"You've been on another world for months, baka! Does the Nether ring any bells, the connection to all the worlds in all the universes? None of this should really be a shock to you."

"Guess I was a little too busy with the training and running from Kyuubi and finding out about my father," Naruto said quietly.

"Still pissed at him, huh?"

"I—I don't know anymore. I talked to Kyuubi about it, she said I was just pissed that I found out that way. I understand why he did what he did now, it just took a little while to sink in. Now I just wonder what things would have been like if things hadn't happened the way they did. Like who would I be if I grew up with Hokage for my father? No orphanage, no mobs, no curses or threats from the villagers. Would I be the same or would it all have gone to my head? I could've ended up like Sasuke…"

"A word of advice: don't dwell on things like that too much Naruto. Leave the "What Ifs?" to comic books. There is a trillion different factors constantly warring against each other that make up our fates," Gilgamesh said. Naruto looked at him strangely; he had never heard the Esper speak so seriously.

"The effects of one decision can echo throughout eternity. Look at you, if your father hadn't done what he did, Kyuubi would have destroyed your entire village, killing you in the process. Look at me. If Ryu-uou hadn't sent me to collect you with Ramuh and Titan as punishment for playing poker with the Goblin and Tonberry Kings, I never would have met Jiraiya and gotten his autograph."

"Way to put things into perspective, Ero-Esper," grumbled Naruto.

"C'mon, this is our stop," Gilgamesh eye-smiled as the Air Cab slowed down to dock. The doorway opened and the pair walked out of the Air Cab.

Lindblum's business district was one of the largest commercial areas Naruto had ever seen, although he only had the market bazaar in Konoha to really compare it to. He followed Gilgamesh down the cobblestone streets, his eyes darting from one storefront or merchant's stand to the next. A whiff of garlic and spices crept into Naruto's nostrils and made his mouth water. His empty stomach grumbled and he sniffed the air, trying to find a trail to the enticing smell. Walking away from Gilgamesh, Naruto wandered through the Business District, literally following his nose, until he stopped in front of a small corner stand called Grandma's Pickles.

"What are these things?" Naruto asked the elderly lady standing behind the stand.

"They're called Gysahl Pickles, they're a delicacy in Lindblum. Would you like one?"

"Sure, I hope they taste as good as they smell."

The old woman smiled as she handed Naruto a large, green pickle wrapped in a thin napkin. The pickle dripped in juices and smelled heavily of spices that Naruto couldn't identify, even with his enhanced sense of smell. Naruto's mouth watered as he took the first bite…

"GAAAAAHHHHHHH! This is terrible! You trying to poison me granny!"

"You watch your manners, young man. It's not my fault you have bad taste in food. That'll be three gil."

"You expect me to pay for that thing?"

"Of course. What, do you come from someplace where everything is free? You better have money, you little brat, or I'll call the city guards!"

"Alright lady. Hang on a second," Naruto muttered and reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out his frog wallet and handed three ryo to the old lady.

"What is this?" she asked, turning the money over. "I said money, not bits of paper!"

"That is money!"

"Gil, kid! Gold! This is just garbage! Guards!" the old lady shouted. A pair of armored soldiers heard her and began running over. Naruto swore under his breath and cracked his neck from side to side.

_If they want a piece of me, I'll show them why no ANBU could ever catch Konoha's Prankster King!_, Naruto thought proudly. He was ready to start running when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

"I'm very sorry for all the trouble," Gilgamesh said. "It's all my fault really, I should have given my son some Gil before we came. But he's not very bright and I was afraid he would lose it or spend it on some trashy bauble." He stopped and reached into his cloak. "Here's ten Gil, sorry about the trouble."

The old woman snatched the bits of gold out of Gilgamesh's hand, quickly counted it, and waved off the approaching guards. Gilgamesh nodded his thanks, grabbed hold of the scruff of Naruto's neck, and marched away.

"What in the name of all fourteen hells were you doing back there?" Gilgamesh asked, his grip on Naruto's arm tight and painful. "What part of don't make a scene didn't you understand?"

"Those pickle things smelled good so I tried one. I tried to pay for it, but she kept shouting that my ryo wasn't real money."

"People use Gil on this world. Paper money is unheard of around here. And next time ask before you go around trying things. I could have told you that those pickles smell great, but taste like stale ass."

"Yeah, well I'm sticking to ramen from now on. No more strange food."

"Could have been worse, I could have brought you to the Midgar Slums. Tifa's quite the looker, she runs a great bar called the Seventh Heaven, but she can't cook worth shit. C'mon, Cid's shop is this way."

They walked through the Business District, Naruto scarcely leaving Gilgamesh's side, and entered a dark alleyway. The red cobblestone street became broken and jagged barbs stuck out, ready to trip an unsuspecting traveler.

"This is it," Gilgamesh said as he stopped in front of a non-descript storefront. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Gilgamesh didn't answer, he just opened the door and stepped into the store. The store was filled with all kinds of weapons ranging from small knives to massive clubs the size of a large man. Gilgamesh rang a small bell on the front desk and a ragged sounding voice called from the bowels of the shop.

"Get lost, we're closed. Go enjoy the hunts like a normal person!"

"And what if we're not a normal person?" Gilgamesh yelled back. A loud thud followed, the sound of something heavy being dropped, and a wizened looking man walked towards Gilgamesh.

He was a powerfully built man with a thick mane of white hair. A carefully trimmed goatee framed his chin. His green eyes gazed at Gilgamesh and Naruto carefully. His hand was wrapped around the handle of an ornate dagger.

"You gonna greet your customers nicely or are you going to stab me with that Orichalcum Dirk?" Gilgamesh asked.

"Haven't decided yet. Depends on whether or not you're planning on robbing me again."

"I didn't mean to rob you," Gilgamesh sighed. "I was just a little short last time. Here, with interest." He tossed a small pouch towards the man. He let go of the dagger's handle and caught the pouch. Naruto heard the clinking of Gil when he caught it.

The man worked the pouch over in his hand. "You're still short."

"I'm making it up by bringing you a special customer," Gilgamesh said. "Naruto, may I present Cidolfas Previa, master swordsmith and keeper of the finest weapons in every known universe."

"Just call me Cid, I hate my full name," Cid said, pocketing the pouch of Gil. "Just don't confuse me with Lindblum's regent, I'm no oglop. So, I take it that this red cloaked klutz roped you into some kind of silly-ass adventure?"

"Cid, Ryu-uou needs a favor," Gilgamesh said. At the mention of Ryu-uou's name, Cid's head snapped up and his entire demeanor changed.

"Ryu-uou sent you?"

"The short version is that Tiamat has taken hold of the kid's world and Lich has cast some dark spell that prevents us from directly intervening. Naruto's training to be our avatar, I've been training him. He needs one of your special blades."

"Lock the door and come on back," Cid sighed and walked into the back of the store. Gilgamesh followed and Naruto came last. The back of the shop was a massive workshop complete with an entire blacksmith's forge. The walls were lined with gorgeously carved display cases. The cases were filled with even more weapons. Naruto stepped close to one of them and gaped at the weapons inside. Even his untrained eye could tell they weren't like the ones in the main shop. These were special, different…

"There they are. Go ahead kid. Take a look around and find the weapon that picks you," Gilgamesh instructed.

"A weapon is going to pick me?"

"These aren't normal weapons," said Cid as he walked around the workshop, opening each display case. "Some of these I made myself, some I collected in my travels, some…well some just made their way here on their own. Each of these weapons has a history, some maybe even a soul. Some are good, some are bad, some are purely evil. What will your journey add to their tales?"

Naruto stepped closer to the case he was looking at. Inside was a collection of daggers in all shapes and sizes. He reached out to touch one, but froze before his fingers reached the handle. "Is it ok if I…"

"Go right ahead," Cid replied. "Physical contact makes the connection between weapon and wielder easier."

Naruto nodded and picked up the dagger. It had a green and gold handle and a purple blade that curved forward like a sickle. Naruto spun it around in his hand, froze, and held it up to his ear.

"I hear something. It's whispering or something," Naruto smiled.

"That is a Mage Masher," Gilgamesh said. "A very handy blade, it can cause people to lose their ability to speak and cast spells. Probably even works on the jutsu in your world."

"They come in pairs," Cid said. He picked up the second Mage Masher out of the case and plucked Naruto's out of his hand. "The handles attach to one another and form a polearm called the Ogre." He touched the two dagger handles together and they fused. He twirled the polearm over his head a few times, the purple blades a blur. When he stopped, one of the blades was a hairsbreadth from Naruto's throat. Cid smiled at him before separating the two daggers and handing them back to Naruto.

Naruto slipped the daggers into his belt and moved on to the next case. It was full of axes. Naruto knew nothing about axes other than their usefulness in chopping firewood. They weren't really a practical shinobi weapon, nor did they fit with Gilgamesh's Kenjutsu style, so Naruto walked past them without a second look. He did the same with the shelves of hammers and maces.

_Good Naruto,_ Gilgamesh thought. _You're beginning to get the idea._

Naruto paused again in front of a rack of spears and staves. "This one feels strange, like its angry at me or something," he said and pointed to one of the spears. It was plainer than most of the others with an undecorated shaft and leaf-shaped blade. The only distinguishing mark was the small red stain on the tip of the blade.

"That is the Spirit Lance," said Cid. "It was used on its world to kill the Son of God."

"I'd avoid that one kid," Gilgamesh advised. "Might not mix real well with Kyuubi's chakra."

"Good idea," Naruto said and quickly moved on. "Now we're talking!" he exclaimed as he stopped in front of a display case full of swords. There were blades of all different shapes and sizes, ranging from simple katanas and broadswords to thick monstrosities and massive greatswords. One blade in particular called out louder than anything else Naruto had seen.

It was a katana of extraordinary length, nearly eight feet long, with a simple black handguard and handle. The blade shined like a mirror and looked incredibly sharp. A glimmer of green energy seemed to shimmer over the blade like a hazy fog, intangible but still present. Naruto reached out to grab it.

"You might not want to pick…" Cid started to say, but Gilgamesh held his hand up to stop him.

"You know who that sword belonged to," Cid whispered. "It might be too much for the kid to handle."

_Let's see how tough you really are kid. If you can survive this, you might actually survive the battles ahead,_ Gilgamesh thought.

"Pick it up Naruto," Gilgamesh said, his voice tense and strong. Naruto looked back at the Esper, nodded, and grasped the sword's handle.

Naruto's scream of pain echoed through the entire workshop as he went limp and collapsed onto the ground.

**-X-**

_Naruto's Mindscape_

Naruto's eyes fluttered open in time with the sound of dripping water. He climbed up off the damp ground and worked the kinks out of his neck.

"Hello! Kyu-chan! Can you hear me?" Naruto's voice echoed through the dank sewer.

_What the hell happened? Why am I in here all of a sudden? _Naruto thought as he maneuvered down the corridors of his mind towards Kyuubi's cage.

"**Naruto-kun!"** Kyuubi shouted from behind the bars of her cage. She slammed her tails into the bars of the cage door. **"You need to get in the cage right now!"**

"What's wrong, Kyu-chan? What happened to me?" Naruto asked as he came to a stop in front of her cage. Kyuubi opened her jaws to speak, but decided against it. She burst into flame and changed to her human form. Naruto was surprised at her change in attire. Instead of her white clothes, she was dressed in a red, armored chestplate, shoulder plates, greaves, and bracers. A pair of curved swords connected by a golden chain were strapped around her waist like a belt.

"What's with the get up?" Naruto asked.

"Get in the cage Naruto! Now!" Kyuubi yelled.

He opened the door and Kyuubi immediately rushed towards him and grabbed him by the arm.

"Something happened when you grabbed that sword," Kyuubi growled. "It was like Cid said, it had a soul. Whatever it is, was, he's here. He was holding the sword and everything. He vanished as soon as he heard your voice."

"Wait a minute, slow down," Naruto said, separating himself from Kyuubi before she could drag him into the cage. "Who is here? How could anyone get into my mindscape? Yamanaka Inoichi was barely able to and he's like a super expert in that stuff."

"It was relatively easy to find the holes in your mental defenses. You are young, there are many," a new voice said from the shadows behind Naruto. Naruto spun around, but didn't see anything.

"Who are you?" he shouted at the darkness.

"A Remnant, a fragment of my former godhood. Perhaps I have become a memory after all," the voice said.

"C'mon out where we can see you!" Kyuubi challenged.

"Gods do not come to the calling of dogs," the voice called back. Kyuubi's hair bristled like her tails would have and her hands traveled down the handles of her blades.

"Enough of this crap, come out from back there. You're trespassing and I want you out of my head," Naruto said.

"I am not trespassing, you invited me here when you touched my sword," the voice said. "As for your head, well, it will soon be my head. Once I destroy you, that is."

"You think you can defeat us both?" Kyuubi grinned. "You overestimate your chances ghost."

"And you underestimate my power," the voice said as footsteps _plip-plopped _in approach. The speaker stepped into the dim light that highlighted Kyuubi's cage. He was a young man, tall with aristocratic features. He wore a black, leather battlesuit with silver pauldrons and black boots. His hair was long and silver with his bangs parted to either side of his face. Green, cat-like eyes glowed in the darkness. He held his massive sword in his left hand, his body coiled like a spring. A single black wing jutted out of his right shoulder.

"But before you die, tell me what it is you cherish most," Sephiroth smiled.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Ok, even I'll admit that's an evil cliffhanger. Muahahahahahaha! I wanted to include more of the Final Fantasy Universe in this chapter, actually went through three different drafts of where Gilgamesh took Naruto for his sword. I picked Dalmasca from FFXII, Midgar Slums from FFVII, and a draft where Naruto made his very own sword from scratch as part of the training. I eventually picked Lindblum because I still haven't finished playing FFXII and don't know enough to use it well, the Midgar Slums were way too modern to really fit with the rest of the story (Naruto would have flipped out if he saw Shin-Ra tower or even one of the Shinra grunt's machine guns), and Lindblum had a great feel to it, like it could have been a city in the Elemental Countries while still feeling strange enough for Naruto.

I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing with the time skips. I wanted to cover a great deal of Naruto's training under Gilgamesh without doing a day-by-day sort of thing. And I won't be forgetting about all our friends back in Konoha as Danzo takes power. I know he became the 6th Hokage in the manga recently, but that was in the aftermath of Pein's attacks. Wait and see what Danzo does with a healthy and powerful Konoha, hahaha.

Please read and review! I'm having alot of fun with this story and want to hear what my readers think about it. With a crossover as open as this, I can take a lot of your ideas and apply them since the story is still wide open in my mind.

**NEXT CHAPTER!**

**A battle beyond limits!**

**NARUTO & KYUUBI VS. SEPHIROTH!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy. This is written just for fun and entertainment.

* * *

**Naruto: Rise of the Espers**

**Chapter 5**

**Moving On**

"Before you die, tell me what you cherish most," Sephiroth smiled. "Give me the pleasure of taking it away."

Kyuubi suppressed a shudder. There was something bizarre and terrifying about the white-haired swordsman. His body wasn't overly impressive; he was slim and, while compactly muscled, was far from intimidating. She looked at his glowing green eyes, his cat-like eyes not unlike her own. He didn't flinch or even blink under her stare.

"Naruto, stay behind me," she said, exposing her slightly elongated teeth. "He is too powerful for you."

"No way!" Naruto yelled. "This is my head, my body. I'm kicking his emo-dressed ass outta here!"

"There is nothing wrong with my attire," Sephiroth said casually. "One whose memories scream of bright orange jumpsuits shouldn't speak of style and functionality."

"How could you know that?" asked Naruto, shocked.

"Your mind is an open book in the face of my powers. If it weren't for the fox, my consciousness would have enveloped yours in a heartbeat and your body would already be remade in my godly image."

"You're no god. You're just a ghost that needs to go back to Hell where you belong!" Naruto shouted and hurled a trio of kunai at Sephiroth. The kunai covered half the distance between them before Sephiroth raised a single finger. The kunai froze in midair and hovered there, held aloft by invisible strings.

"Pathetic," Sephiroth said and, with a flick of his finger, turned the kunai around and shot them back at Naruto. The kunai were blurs of black metal, Naruto could barely see them and closed his eyes before they could spear into his body.

Kyuubi darted in front of Naruto in a blur of red, her swords deflecting the kunai. When the knives didn't piece into his flesh, Naruto peeked open one eye and saw Kyuubi's red hair in front of him.

"Thanks Kyu-chan," he said with a sigh of relief.

"Be quiet!" Kyuubi snapped. Her voice was sharp and feral, full of anger and worry. "You've got to stop thinking like a loudmouth shinobi! Little tricks like that aren't going to work anymore. Start thinking like a proper warrior before you get us both killed!"

Naruto opened his mouth to apologize, but Kyuubi was already on the move. She dashed at Sephiroth and flung her chain swords at his neck. Sephiroth calmly raised his sword, blocked her attack, and swung his massive blade at Kyuubi's midsection. Kyuubi jumped back, narrowly dodging the blade that would have cut her in half.

_He's so fast, I can barely see his attack_, she thought as she retreated from more attacks. _It's like seeing a silvery blur instead of a sword, just a shimmer in the air._

Sephiroth halted his attack. He showed no sign of exertion despite the ferocity of his attacks. "I honestly expected more from the King of Hell," he said, bored.

"Queen," Kyuubi corrected with a growl. "And I'm just getting started. Kage Bushin No Jutsu!"

Four Kyuubi clones _poofed_ into existence beside the original, each holding their own copy of her chain sword and spinning one end around their finger, the chain linking the two swords together magically lengthened with each spin. They spiked the spinning end of the sword into the ground and shouted: "Kitsune Art: Kin Kusari Shibaru!"

Red chakra burst from each Kyuubi as she darted at Sephiroth, their golden chains spooling out behind them. They ran around Sephiroth in red and gold blurs; he tried to attack them as they past, but found his arms and legs wrapped and bound in the gold chains.

Kyuubi and her clones stopped and hurled the other end of their chain swords into the ground, anchoring the links binding Sephiroth in place, their fingers flashing through hand seals. The swordsman struggled to free himself, but the chains were too tight, too strong to break.

"Katon: Gōryūka No Jutsu" Kyuubi and the clones shouted. Five enormous fireballs, each shaped in the form of a snarling dragon's head, slammed into Sephiroth. The sewer burst into intense flames, Naruto could feel the heat from the fires even from behind Kyuubi.

"You got him Kyu-chan!" exclaimed Naruto. "That was incredi…"

Naruto didn't finish his sentence as Sephiroth calmly walked out of the fire, completely unharmed. Not even his long, white hair was burnt.

"That was almost interesting, I haven't felt a fire attack that strong since I last sparred with Genesis," Sephiroth smirked and disappeared in a whisper of sound similar to the air being sucked out of a balloon. Sephiroth reappeared at Kyuubi's right side.

"Like I said, I expected more from a demon," Sephiroth whispered into Kyuubi's ear and lashed out with his sword. Kyuubi managed to duck beneath his first attack, losing a few hairs off the top of her head, but couldn't avoid the second. The massive sword sliced into her arm, cutting deep into her flesh. Kyuubi stumbled away, part of her chain-sword dropped to the ground as her arm went numb.

"Kyu-chan!" Naruto shouted and ran towards her. Kyuubi opened her mouth to tell him to stay back, but was silenced by another whisper of sound. She quickly looked for Sephiroth, but he had vanished again. Kyuubi scanned the ground around her, but saw no trace of the swordsman. Then she realized it.

"Naruto, above you!" she shouted in warning. Naruto skidded to a halt and looked up. Sephiroth was poised directly above him, his single wing flapping occasionally to keep him aloft, his sword pointed down at Naruto.

"To the Promised Land," he said and dropped. He plummeted to the ground like a meteor, his black coat spreading out beneath him. Naruto barely jumped out of the way in time as Sephiroth's sword speared into the ground, right where Naruto's neck had been.

Naruto landed in a loose Kenjutsu stance, his two Mage Mashers held in reverse grips in front of him. Sephiroth smiled at him as he walked out of the crater.

"Hmm, my powers must have weakened more than I thought for a mere child to dodge that attack," he said and resumed his fighting stance.

"It's gonna take more than that to beat me!" Naruto shouted back and ran at Sephiroth. He slashed at Sephiroth, but Sephiroth parried each of Naruto's slashes with ease.

_Damn it,_ cursed Naruto. _His sword is way too long, I can't get inside it to get at him._

"Alright, try this on for size," Naruto leapt back and crossed his fingers into the Ram seal. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and several hundred Kage Bushins burst into existence surrounding Sephiroth, each holding a kunai in hand.

"That technique, it's almost impressive," Sephiroth smirked. "But a thousand weaklings will fare no differently than just one."

Sephiroth dashed at the clones and slashed his massive sword. Clones burst into clouds of smoke with each swing. Many tried to attack and deflect Sephiroth's sword with their kunai, but the master swordsman was too much.

_He's cutting through my clones faster than that Kimimaro guy did, _worried Naruto. _I better do this fast._

Naruto held out his hand and began gathering chakra. Beside him, one of his Kage Bushins started to shape it into a sphere. Blue chakra whirled and grew in a tight circle until a large ball burst into existence within the real Naruto's hand.

"Alright, here we go!" Naruto and his remaining clones shouted. Sephiroth stopped cutting apart Bushins in time to see Naruto charge at him. He tried to slash at Naruto, but a trio of Kage Bushin latched onto Sephiroth's arm and blocked his swing.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted and plunged the swirling mass of chakra into Sephiroth's chest. The Rasengan tore into Sephiroth and hurled the swordsman back into the far wall of the sewer. Sephiroth hit the wall and stuck there, his sword hung limply from his hand, his chest armor shredded and his bare chest exposed.

Naruto fell to one knee as his remaining Kage Bushins disappeared. "How do you like that Kyu-chan? Got him in one shot!"

"Got who gaki?" Kyuubi growled, her eyes sweeping across the mindscape. "He's gone."

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted and looked in the direction Sephiroth flew. There was a man-shaped hole in the wall, but no sign of Sephiroth.

"Where'd he go? Is he gone, did we win?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think so," muttered Kyuubi. "Look!"

Naruto spun around and saw black ooze pouring out of the sewer floor. The ooze was thick, but flowed like a fountain of water. It began to spread across the floor and crept up the walls of Naruto's mindscape.

"What is that stuff?" Naruto wondered and reached out to touch the ooze.

"Don't touch it!" shouted Kyuubi. "What the hell is wrong with you? A bunch of black slime starts pouring out of the walls and the first thing you want to do is touch it!"

"So sue me for being curious!" Naruto turned and shouted back. He was so busy yelling at Kyuubi that he didn't notice the ooze begin to converge in on spot behind him. The ooze slowly rose up from the ground and lengthened. The top of the ooze parted silently as the crown of Sephiroth's head grew from the ooze. The rest of Sephiroth's body quickly followed with no signs of damage from Naruto's Rasengan.

"What you lack in power you make up for in false hope," Sephiroth said as he stepped out of the ooze.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me?!" Naruto shouted as he spun around. "Do you ever stay dead?"

"Gods never die boy, some memories are too strong to ever fade away," Sephiroth said and gave his wing a great flap. He rose into the air and held out his open right hand. "This is the hour of my ascension back to godhood."

Black ooze rose up and swirled around Sephiroth's hand, eerily similar to the chakra of Naruto's Rasengan. The ooze condensed into a jewel-like orb. Sephiroth smiled as he gazed into the orb and let out a great shout: "Burn down the heavens, METEOR!"

Black energies gathered around Sephiroth and flowed into the black orb. Waves of power swept through the mindscape like roaring winds and nearly knocked Naruto over.

"What the hell is he doing?" Naruto asked over the noise.

"I don't know, but it can't be good," Kyuubi replied. "Is that what I think it is?"

The black orb had grown too large to hold in Sephiroth's hand. It floated over him and grew larger and more irregular in shape with each passing second. Its surface became craggy and pitted, the black glossiness it had as an orb was replaced with a grey and brown rocky surface.

"It looks like a giant rock," Naruto muttered, "like some kind of Doton jutsu."

"It's still getting bigger," Kyuubi said, unable to hide the dread in her voice.

The massive rock continued to grow rapidly, its size caused the ceiling of the mindscape to expand just to contain it, until its size dwarfed Naruto, Kyuubi, and Sephiroth.

"Now what the hell are we going to do? That thing's the same size as the Hokage Monument!" yelled Naruto. He was nearly in a panic, terrified by the enormous METEOR looming overhead.

Kyuubi opened her mouth to try and offer up some encouragement to Naruto when she noticed the black ooze swell and expand.

_It's feeding off Naruto's fear and negative thoughts,_ she realized. Kyuubi looked up and saw Sephiroth smirking from beneath his METEOR. _That ooze is making Sephiroth stronger!_

"Naruto! You gotta get a hold of yourself. This ooze, this stigma, is feeding off your fears and is making Sephiroth even stronger! You have to take control!"

"Control of what?" Naruto shouted back.

"This is your mindscape gaki, you make the rules here. You're in charge here, not him! You can push back this junk and stop him!"

"Alright, I'll try," Naruto nodded. He crossed his fingers in the Ram seal and scrunched his face in focus.

Nothing happened.

"C'mon Naruto! You're not trying hard enough!" yelled Kyuubi, a touch of panic in her voice as the METEOR continued to grow.

"It's kind of hard with you shouting at me and that giant rock hanging over our heads!" Naruto shouted back.

"Just do it, you dobe meat sack!"

Naruto ignored Kyuubi's insults and tried again. He closed his eyes and began chanting: "I'm in charge. I'm in charge. I'M IN CHARGE!"

Chakra burst from Naruto's tenketsu and encased his entire body in a haze of blue flame. All around Naruto, the black ooze stopped and then retreated away from him.

"Keep it up Naruto, you're weakening him!" Kyuubi shouted after she looked up at Sephiroth. He grimaced and seemed to flutter in midair each time Naruto's chakra burned into the ooze. Kyuubi threw fox fire at the retreating ooze. The stigma caught fire and burned a noxious green color.

Sephiroth grunted as his stigma burned beneath him. Seven feathers fell from his wing and Sephiroth suddenly dropped several feet in altitude. Sephiroth grit his teeth, returned to his position beneath METEOR, and laid his hand on its underside.

"It's time to end this," he growled. "Crush them into oblivion!" he yelled and pushed the massive rock as if it weighed nothing. METEOR let out a low rumble, like a hibernating bear being woken from a deep sleep, and began its descent. Sephiroth gave one last smirk towards Naruto and Kyuubi before flying to safety behind METEOR's wake.

The massive rock picked up momentum, like a snowball that starts an avalanche. Naruto and Kyuubi stood directly in its path. METEOR was so large, there was no place for them to escape.

"Do you have anything that could blow that thing out of the sky?" Naruto asked Kyuubi, his voice strangely calm despite the situation.

"Of course, I'm the Kyuubi No Yoko," Kyuubi said with a small smile. METEOR grew closer, friction from the air causing flames to burst into existence over its entire surface. Wind kicked up and blew Kyuubi's hair back.

"It's going to take some time though," Kyuubi muttered.

"Meaning that by the time your attack charges and fires, we'll be crushed into dust and my hair will suddenly be long and white," Naruto groaned.

"Well if you've got something up your sleeve, I suggest you get started!" Kyuubi growled.

"Heh, than I guess it's time I tried something new," smirked Naruto. "Got nothing to lose at this point. Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Thousands of Kage Bushins filled the mindscape, many more than when Naruto fought Sephiroth hand-to-hand earlier. The real Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the seal on his stomach. His chakra flared again, more orange than blue this time. His whisker marks widened and thickened, his nails and canine teeth grew into claws and fangs, his hair grew longer and spikier, his pupils turned to slits, and his blue eyes darkened to blood red. With a roar, Kyuubi's red chakra overwhelmed Naruto's natural blue, cloaking him in demonic chakra, complete with fox-shaped ears and two tails of chakra.

The thousands of clones all throughout the mindscape transformed as well, bathing the dank and dismal sewer with red light. Each Naruto raised his Mage Masher daggers and slammed their hilts together, the same way Cid had back in the shop. The daggers combined, their hilts and blades growing magically, and formed the Ogre polearm.

The Kage Bushins ran around and leapt into the air until they had METEOR completely surrounded. They spun the Ogre in their hands and a pale green glow appeared along the blades. Demonic chakra from the Two-Tailed transformation combined with the wind chakra and overpowered it, turning the blades' glow red.

"This is it!" the thousands of Naruto's shouted in unison, spinning the Ogres faster and faster. "Futon: Hakōgeki Rendan!"

Thousands of crimson Blade Beams raced from the Kage Bushins and tore at METEOR. They cut it from every angle, tearing into the rock. The first few dozen Blade Beams merely cut METEOR's surface, but its sheer size and bulk could only stop so many. Hundreds, if not thousands of Blade Beams sliced and ripped through Sephiroth's attack until METEOR was nothing but a few harmless pieces of stone no bigger than a child's ball.

Three of the last Blade Beams passed through the remains of METEOR and headed at Sephiroth. The swordsman saw them at the last minute and managed to bring his massive sword up to block them. The three Beams slammed into his sword, their combined energies washed over Sephiroth, and knocked him out of the sky. He plummeted toward the ground, his body limp and lifeless, and crashed with a sickening thud.

The thousands of Kage Bushins disappeared, their smoke obscured the mindscape for a moment, and Naruto fell to one knee. The last remains of Kyuubi's chakra faded and he returned back to normal, utterly exhausted.

"Wasn't sure if that was going to work," Naruto panted. "I'd only managed to make the Blade Beam once back in the forest."

"You've always had the devil's luck," Kyuubi smiled and helped Naruto back to his feet. "And my all powerful chakra helped a lot too."

"Yeah, well, don't go taking all the credit," joked Naruto. "Urgh, what's that smell? This place stinks like rotten meat."

"What do you expect, your mind is literally a sewer," said Kyuubi before sniffing the air. "But it does stink worse than usual. Must be that slime stuff dying. Look, it's still retreating."

"Heh, look at it run," grinned Naruto. "Get out of my mind you nasty shit!"

He turned and started to walk back towards Kyuubi's cage with her at his side, helping him walk and picking him up whenever he tripped. They had just reached the cage when they heard a loud _crack_ echo through the mindscape.

Naruto and Kyuubi spun around and saw Sephiroth covered in ooze. The stigma hadn't been retreating, it had been racing to its master's aid. It covered Sephiroth, leaving only his face, hair, and chest untouched. His body ended at the waist, his legs replaced by an enormous black, purple, and putrid green colored trunk that rose up from the mass of ooze. His arms turned into whip-like tentacles, his sword gone. Sephiroth raised the tentacle and gave it another _crack._

"This is my Mother's power, Jenova's legacy. With her power and your body, I will rise above you mere mortals and remake your world!" Sephiroth yelled and slithered across the mindscape. His eyes bulged out of their sockets and a wave of psychic power rocked Naruto and Kyuubi backwards into Kyuubi's cage.

Naruto's already battered body crumbled beneath Sephiroth's new attack. Kyuubi recovered quickly, her mental defenses were stronger than Naruto's, and gently leaned Naruto against the side of the cage before turning back towards Sephiroth. Sephiroth leered at the young woman and lashed out with his psychic powers again. Kyuubi braced herself and shielded Naruto from the blast. Sephiroth grinned and whipped his tentacles at Kyuubi, but Kyuubi blocked the attacks with her swords easily.

"You've gotten bigger and uglier, but slower," she said with a small grin. "That psychic attack may be enough to lay out a kid like Naruto, but it only gave me a damn migraine."

Sephiroth growled in rage and struck out with his tentacles again. Kyuubi ducked beneath them and swung her swords. Sephiroth let out an inhuman yowl of pain as the ends of his tentacles flopped onto the ground, ooze poured out of the wounds instead of blood.

"Let's end this," Kyuubi growled and her body burst into flame. The flame grew until Kyuubi reached her full demonic size, her nine tails writhing and slamming into the walls in rage.

Sephiroth concentrated on his damaged tentacle and used the remaining stigma to heal it. His tentacles grew back and he lashed out at Kyuubi, scratching her face. Kyuubi let out a low growl and lashed out with her tails, striking Sephiroth in the chest. The blow sent him flying across the mindscape and into a wall, giving Kyuubi the time she needed.

She gathered her nine tails around her so that the tips were all pointing towards her mouth. With a snarl, she focused all her chakra through her tails and gathered it into a ball in front of her mouth. The ball grew and grew as Kyuubi pumped more and more power into it. Soon, it was twice the size of her head. She paused to watch Sephiroth pull himself out of the wall she knocked him into and smiled to herself.

"**Get up from this. Kyubiko Imari!"** Kyuubi growled through clenched fangs before she unhinged her jaws and swallowed the massive ball of chakra. Her entire body immediately swelled into an obese orb, like an inflated balloon, her legs and tails stuck out in static uselessness.

A mad grin broke Sephiroth's handsome features. "What kind of silly attack is this? You can't even move!" he laughed and struck her with his tentacles. The attack cut a deep gauge in Kyuubi's side. Blood and red light flowed from the wound.

Kyuubi didn't reply, in fact, she couldn't. Her mouth was full of red chakra, beams of power slipped out from between her fanged teeth. Her eyes glared daggers at Sephiroth before she stretched her mouth open.

A blast of concentrated demonic chakra flew from Kyuubi's jaws, red and fast as lightning. Sephiroth had just enough time to widen his eyes before the beam engulfed and consumed him. The concentrated chakra burned and melted the stigma holding his body together, his tentacles sagged and dropped off his body like globs of black candle wax. He didn't have time to scream.

The beam plowed into the wall of the mindscape and exploded into a ball of iridescent light, sweeping out through the entire mindscape. When the light faded, the only trace left of Sephiroth was a small scorch mark on the floor where he had stood.

Smoke drifted out of Kyuubi's mouth as she fought to catch her breath. She focused on healing her wounded side and laid down in the middle of the floor, too exhausted to focus and transform back into her human form. Naruto crawled over to her, holding the sides of his head in pain from Sephiroth's psychic blast. He slumped down beside her and leaned his back against the side of her shoulder.

"Well, that was interesting," he muttered.

"**I haven't used that attack in three millennia," **Kyuubi grumbled. **"I forgot how much it takes out of me."**

"Yeah, but it was definitely one of the coolest jutsu I've ever seen," chuckled Naruto. "Am I going to be able to do that someday?"

"**Exactly like that? I doubt it, you'd need all nine tails of my power. You might be able to pull it off with as many as four tails, but it wouldn't nearly be as powerful."**

"Heh, sounds good to me," Naruto yawned. He nestled backwards into Kyuubi's plush fur and let out a loud sigh.

"**Hey, I ain't your personal mattress gaki," **Kyuubi growled. **"Did you hear me Naruto? Naruto? Naruto!"**

But Naruto was already sound asleep.

**-X-**

"Naruto!"

"Lemme alone," Naruto grumbled and pushed away the toe that was poking him in the ribs.

"Get your ass off my floor kid!" another voice yelled. Naruto rubbed his face and rolled onto his back. He blinked and raised his hand to block out the light.

"When did I get sunlight in my mindscape?" he muttered, still half asleep.

"It's about time you came out of it," Gilgamesh said, annoyed. "You've been lying on Cid's floor for the last forty minutes twitching like a fish out of water. I was starting to think you were going to be fighting all afternoon and we'd miss the Festival of the Hunt."

"Ero-Esper!" Naruto shouted and jumped to his feet. "You knew what was going to happen when I picked up that sword, didn't you?"

"Un-huh."

"Then why the hell did you let me pick it up? That emo-wannabe teme wanted to take over my body!"

"Call it a test gaki, part of your training," Gilgamesh shrugged.

"Well do I at least get to keep the sword now?"

"Sure kid, just pick which piece you want," Cid laughed. Naruto looked down and let out a loud groan. The massive katana style sword was lying on the ground, its blade shattered into a dozen pieces and its handle twisted into an oval.

"Aw man, how did that happen?"

"What did you expect kid? Kill the soul, kill the sword," Cid grumbled before he glared at Gilgamesh. "You know what I had to do to get that sword; I had to climb all the way down this giant crater in the middle of goddamn frozen wasteland, blade was half buried in this glowing green muck. It was one of a kind and your kid killed it. You're paying for that too."

"Yeah, yeah, just send me a bill."

"Tried that the last two times, my bills got sent back return to sender," Cid growled. "I'm 'fraid its cash only from now on. And hurry it up, the Festival is startin'."

"Fine, fine, you'll get your Gil," Gilgamesh complained and waved his finger at Naruto. "C'mon gaki, get up and pick out another blade before Cid starts to cry."

Naruto nodded and walked back the case he first found Sephiroth's massive sword. None of the other swords in the case appealed to Naruto or had the same mysterious pull. Naruto groaned under his breath and moved along. The next case was full of measures, playing cards, maces, wing-shaped pinwheels, gigantic forks, and even what Naruto swore was a plush doll.

"What's with all these weirdo weapons?" Naruto asked. "How can you use a giant fork or a stuffed doll in a fight?"

"Different people think and fight in different ways," Gilgamesh said. "I've seen mages channel enough black magic through little dolls like that to level your entire village in a single blast. Keep looking."

Naruto moved down and picked up a strange, tube like weapon. It featured a trio of silver tubes decorated with snarling dog heads attached to a wooden handle and metal trigger.

"What's this?" Naruto asked and waved it in the air. Gilgamesh ducked for cover and Cid snatched the strange weapon out of Naruto's hand.

"Be careful with that!" he shouted. "This is the one thing in here that doesn't belong to me!"

"Who does it belong to? And what is it?" asked Naruto.

"This is Cerberus, a one of a kind gun."

"What's a gun?"

"Think of it as a combination of exploding tags and shuriken launcher. This belongs to an immortal gunslinger. Every few hundred years or so, he goes and takes a long nap and leaves his gun here for safe keeping," Cid explained.

"Un huh," Naruto said and scratched his head.

"If you don't understand a word of it, just say so and move on gaki," Gilgamesh groaned. "Let's go, I was supposed to play poker tonight and the goblins owe me five large."

"Degenerate gambler, you're worse than Baa-chan," Naruto muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Gilgamesh asked.

"Huh, what? Umm, I think I see one," Naruto said as he walked to a new case and picked up a plain looking katana in a hardwood scabbard.

"I thought you were going to pick out a good blade," Gilgamesh complained. "That's just a regular sword, no better than those kunai you brought with you."

"This is no ordinary sword," Cid snapped and took the katana out of Naruto's hands. "This is Chirijiraden." Cid held the red sheath in one hand and pulled the sword's handle with his other. The blade was longer than it appeared in its sheath, as if it grew as it was cleared from its sheath, and glowed an iridescent mother-of-pearl. The blade had a deeper curve than a normal katana and its edge glinted with razor sharpness.

"Chirijiraden is short for its true name: Chiriji Raden Kazari Tsurugi," Cid explained as he rotated the blade and watched the light reflect off its polished edge. "A special method was used in making the blade, mixing ground up magicite in with the steel. That's what gives it the unique sheen. The making of the blade is secret, even to me. In all my years, I haven't gotten remotely close to recreating the process. It was originally an ornamental sword made for a great king who used it to conquer the nearby countries and brought about an age of unmeasured prosperity. When the great king died, his three sons fought for possession of the sword. They turned prosperity into bloody civil war. In the end, the oldest of the three sons watched his younger brothers kill each other over the sword. He saw what greed and jealousy had brought upon them and feared the swords power. Deeming it too powerful for mortals, he sealed it deep within a mountain where no one could ever wield it again."

"How did you get it then?" Naruto asked.

"Like I said before, sometimes I find these weapons and sometimes they make their way to me," Cid grinned. "This one falls in the latter category."

Naruto stared at the sword and thought about all the times when having it would have changed his past. He reached out and took the sword from Cid. He stared at the blade and saw the metal ripple and shimmer in ways it hadn't while Cid held it.

_Fighting in Wave, the Forest of Death, the invasion…I could've saved Ojji-san…I could've stopped Sauce…_

A pale white glow grew across Chirijiraden's blade and the blade grew longer and sharper. Naruto felt new strength shoot down his arm and swell inside his chest. It burned away any and all weariness and exhaustion from within; he felt better than he had in months, even with Kyuubi's nightly healings.

"That is…different," Gilgamesh said. "You ever see anything like that before?"

"No…never," Cid replied astonished.

"So how much does this one cost? Naruto asked and gave the sword a test swing.

**-X-**

"I'm going to get back at you for this gaki," Gilgamesh grumbled as he walked out of Cid's shop and back onto the streets of Lindblum, his back slouched and head hung. "I don't care if it takes me a millennia, or even if it's the very last thing I do."

"Stop acting like it's the end of the world," said Naruto. He walked tall and proud, his new daggers in special sheaths on his belt and his new sword and scabbard tied to his back. "It's only a little money."

"A little money!" Gilgamesh shouted. "You cost me over 300,000 Gil!"

"That wasn't all my fault! Maybe if you paid your bills like a normal person this sort of thing wouldn't happen."

"Just don't talk gaki," Gilgamesh muttered and rubbed his temples beneath his hood. "Besides, you should really keep it down while we're walking around during the Festival of the Hunt. There are all sorts of monsters running around inside the city."

"You mean like that one?" Naruto asked and pointed at a massive pig. The pig was the size of Naruto's old apartment building and dark tan in color. A pair of black tusks jutted out of its chin while another pair arced backwards from the back of its mouth. Another pair of horns drew backwards from above its eyes and an eccentric blue mohawk mane completed the beast's strange appearance.

"Ah, that would be a Zaghnol," Gilgamesh recognized the beast. "I do believe it is the elite mark of this year's Hunt, which also means it is undoubtedly the strongest as well. Have fun gaki."

"What do you mean, have fun?" Naruto asked before the Zaghnol let out a great bellow. Blue lightning danced across its thick body, it cackled from its hooves all the way to the tips of its tusks. When the lightning faded, the Zaghnol shook itself and stared at Naruto. Its beady eyes jittered with excitement and bloodlust.

Naruto turned to look at Gilgamesh, but the red-cloaked Esper was gone. "Payback for your lost Gil, huh Ero-Esper?" he muttered and rolled his eyes. He turned his attention back to the gigantic boar in front of him. He undid the strap holding the sheathed Chirijiraden to his back and drew the sword. The second the blade was exposed, the pale white glow reappeared. The blade grew in length, sharpness, and Naruto felt power shoot up his arm once again.

"Heh, I could get used to his," Naruto muttered and slipped into his Kenjutsu stance. "This might be fun after all."

**-X-**

"And the winner of this year's Festival of the Hunt, Uzumaki Naruto!" the festival announcer cheered and raised Naruto's arm into the air. The gathered crowd let out a loud cheer and threw confetti and firecrackers into the air. Naruto grinned sheepishly, slightly uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting.

"For his bravery in battle with the Zaghnol, I hereby award Uzumaki Naruto with this year's grand prize: 100,000 Gil…"

"I'll take that," Gilgamesh said, swooping in out of thin air to intercept the money.

"Who—who are you?" the announcer asked, startled.

"I guess you could call me his manager of sorts," Gilgamesh eye-smiled.

"Umm, ok," the announcer said after Naruto gave him a slight nod, "and along with the Gil prize, I also present this Master Hunter certificate and this Fire Ring." The announcer handed Naruto a rolled up scroll and a small gold ring. Naruto briefly inspected the ring and ran his fingers over the flame shaped, red jewel in the center of the ring.

"Hang onto that," Gilgamesh said. "It will come in handy in a little while."

Naruto was about to ask him why, but Gilgamesh was already working through the crowd. Naruto turned to follow, but the announcer grabbed his arm and began to pump it up and down vigorously. Naruto smiled at the man and tried to free his hand before the announcer yanked it off.

When he finally freed himself, Naruto quickly searched for Gilgamesh and ran after the Esper. He finally caught up with Gilgamesh near the Air Cab for the Theatre District. "Hey, Ero-Esper! What'd you think, I did pretty good back there, didn't I?"

"You beat the fragment of a memory and a giant pig. Congrats gaki, you're ready to take on Tiamat, Lich, Odin, and Leviathan all at once," Gilgamesh replied sarcastically. "You still got a lot to learn and we're running out of time."

"What's left for me to learn? I already mastered _Futon _jutsu and magic thanks to Kyu-chan's help and I mastered your Kenjutsu style," Naruto said as they boarded the Air Cab.

"That was the easy part Naruto. This last step is the most dangerous. If you're not ready for it, you'll be ripped apart and sent to hell in the blink of an eye," Gilgamesh said and created a portal. Naruto could see familiar groves of bamboo stalks and rows of green trees.

"We're going home?" asked Naruto as he watched Gilgamesh take a step into the portal.

"It's time you learned to control my power and became my avatar," Gilgamesh said seriously. "It's time to move on in your training with the other Espers."

* * *

MOVES/MAGIC/JUTSU GLOSSARY

Katon: Gōryūka No Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique

Kage Bushin No Jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique

Kitsune Art: Kin Kusari Shibaru: Fox Art: Golden Chain Binding

Rasengan: Spiraling Sphere

METEOR: The Ultimate Destructive Magic

Futon: Hakōgeki Rendan: Wind Release: Blade Beam Barrage

Kyubiko Imari: Nine-tailed Menacing Ball

Author's Notes:

Sorry it's been such a long time since I updated this fic. I started student teaching and it takes up 99% of my free time. Go back and thank all the teachers you ever had because it takes a lot of work. This chapter is the last in the "training" segment of Naruto: Rise of the Espers. I am including a timeskip in the next chapter, a sort of fast forward like they did in Shippuden. All other training segments will be flashbacks.

And if anyone doesn't like how I handled the battle with Sephiroth, just remember this: Cloud killed Sephiroth in the Mt. Nibel reactor before Hojo experimented on him, meaning Cloud was more or less human when he bested Sephiroth. So while Sephiroth is probably the greatest Final Fantasy villain ever (with the sole exception of possibly Kefka), he is defeatable, especially considering that he is merely a fragment of a memory leftover in his sword. So if it felt that Naruto and Kyuubi beat the almighty Sephiroth a little too cleanly/easily, that's why.

Send me those reviews, let me know what you, my beloved readers, think and how I can do better.

N.W.

**Next Chapter:**

**Return to Konoha..."What happened Baa-chan?"**


	6. Chapter 6

Hey folks, it's been awhile, but I have a great chapter here for you. A lot happens in this chapter, so pay close attention!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Naruto or the Final Fantasy series. If I did, Naruto would have kicked Sasuke's ass all over the place by now and FFXIII Vanille would have a less annoying voice.

Disclaimer II: This chapter contains some depiction of torture and makes reference to rape. I do not encourage or condone these actions, please remember this is a work of fiction.

* * *

Naruto: Rise of the Espers

Chapter 6

A Hero's Welcome?

_Konoha_

_Six Years Later_

_Anniversary of Naruto's Disappearance_

Dawn broke over Konoha, illuminating the five faces on the Hokage Monument. Birds fluffed their feathers, stretched their wings, and took to the sky, looking for breakfast and singing their songs. In the Inuzuka kennels, dogs began scratching and pacing inside their enclosures, eager to be let out and eat their breakfast. Flowers opened to great the sun in the Yamanaka flower shop. Civilian workers rubbed sleep from their eyes and began their morning rituals, preparing for another day of work.

All in all, it seemed like the beginning of another wonderful morning in the Hidden Leaf Village.

The rising sun snuck through a crack in the blinds covering the windows of the Hokage's office. It landed square on the face of the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, causing her to grumble in her sleep. She lay face down on her desk, a common sight for her staff to find her in every morning. Piles of sake bottles littered her desk, stuffed in drawers and scattered between mission requests, briefings, and intelligence reports.

Tsunade sat up from her desk and yawned, wincing at the taste of morning breath and stale sake. She stretched her stiff arms and shoulders and knocked over half a saucer of sake in the process.

"Damn it," she muttered and quickly mopped up the mess. Unfortunately, she had grabbed a handful of unread mission reports and used them as a rag, soaking them. "Shit. Shit!" she cursed and tried to un-crumple and wipe off the alcohol. All her efforts only further ruined the reports.

"The hell with it," Tsunade growled and tossed the ruined reports across the room. "They probably weren't important anyway, nothing I get is anymore. Danzo will run his black ops whether or not I approve of them."

Tsunade slouched back into her office chair, her hand automatically reaching for her sake bottle. She tipped it over the saucer; only three drops fell out of the bottle. Tic marks appeared on Tsunade's forehead as she glared at the empty bottle. She grabbed the bottle and walked to the open window. She stretched, wound up, and hurled the bottle as hard as she could. It flew for miles before disappearing from sight.

"Heh, still go it," she smiled before turning back toward her desk. She caught her reflection in the surface of a clock and paused for a moment. _I look like hell_, she thought. _Even my Genjutsu is slipping._

The daily alcohol abuse and stresses of being Hokage were indeed taking an effect on Tsunade's health. She was healing herself on a cellular level on a daily basis, something she hadn't had to do since she was an active Shinobi during the last war.

_Where the hell are you Naruto? You were supposed to take this job away from me by now. Hell, only reason I came back to this godforsaken village was because of you,_ Tsunade thought and wiped the remaining sleep from her eyes.

"Might as well get started for the day," Tsunade grumbled, sat down at her desk, and pushed a button on her intercom.

"Yes Lady Tsunade," the canned voice said from the other end of the intercom.

_It's been six years and it still feels strange not to hear Shizune on the other end of this thing_, Tsunade thought before asking what her itinerary was for the day.

-X-

Deep in the forests along the border of Konoha, a small wind scattered the grass and leaves that littered the forest floor. The winds increased and a man-sized tornado sprang to life in a small clearing. It twisted amongst the trees, scratching deep gauges in the tree trucks and sucking up legions of green leaves and sticks.

The tornado slowed and a very nauseous young man stepped out of it just before it dissipated. He wobbled around, dizzy, caught himself from falling against a tree truck, put his head between his knees, and retched.

While the teen emptied his stomach on the forest floor, another portal sprang to life. A blaze of blue and orange fire flared brightly, but didn't burn any of the forest around it. The fire simmered and snuffed itself out. A beautiful woman with blood colored hair remained.

"Your entrance still needs work," she said, surveying the damage caused by the tornado. "Had this been inside the village, you would have torn all the people into fleshy ribbons."

"You would've loved that," the young man said and spat the taste of bile out of his mouth.

"Only if was in the Uchiha District, but you said it would be all but abandoned now."

"Sasuke-teme was the last one there. I doubt he's moved back home since I left," the young man said and straightened out. "And you know my teleporting is better than that, I'm just a little nervous about going home."

"A warrior should never feel nervous, just a sense of calm and readiness," the woman said seriously and then broke into a bright smile. "Or that's what Ifrit-san would have said. I think after six years you can be a little nervous about coming home."

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing, sneaking in like a bunch of…what's that whistling noise?" The teen paused and looked around the forest, but didn't see anything.

"Doesn't sound like a kunai or shuriken," the woman replied, "too high pitched. Be ready for anything."

"Could it be a bird or…" the young man started to say when a sake bottle crashed through the forest canopy and shattered on the back of his head.

"OW!" he yelled and grabbed the growing lump on his head. "What the hell was that?"

"Looks like a sake bottle," the woman said in between snorts of laughter. The young man shot her a glare before he picked up the biggest fragment from the smashed bottle and studied the label. It had been six years, but he still recognized the brand.

"Damn it Baa-chan! This is not the welcome back I had in mind!" Naruto yelled at the sky.

-X-

In Konoha, Tsunade let out a very loud sneeze. She quickly spun around and looked over her shoulder, an old habit for avoiding debt collectors. She soon realized she was still safe and sound inside her office.

"Heh, someone must be thinking about me this morning," she thought aloud and then giggled. "Probably just Jiraiya hoping for another visit."

-X-

Naruto and Kyuubi walked casually through the forest, though Naruto occasionally stopped to grumble and rub the back of his head. Kyuubi still thought it was hysterical. She was still dressed in her reveling white ensemble, her chain swords strapped across her back. She walked barefoot through the forest, digging her toes into the dirt and grass as she walked. Despite her relative freedom from the seal for six years, Kyuubi still relished each moment she spent outdoors.

"A Kitsune belongs in the wilds," she once said to Naruto. "We can survive in villages, even cities like Lindblum; but we truly find our peace in the forests and hills."

Naruto walked beside her, occasionally reaching out and touching a tree truck. It was almost as if he was reassuring himself they were real, that he was really home. Six years of unspeakably brutal training and a diet of real food—"Ramen is only an occasional treat for good behavior, like sex," Kyuubi once joked to Naruto's horror and embarrassment—had transformed Naruto. He had grown to his father's height and still looked to gain another inch or two. His hair was longer and spikier and his whisker marks had darkened. His "look at me!" orange jumpsuit was long gone. As it turned out, Naruto's obsession with bright orange was part of "evil" Kyuubi's influence; all stemming from a desire to for Naruto to be killed. After the Sharingan taint had been removed, the obsession faded away. Also, the extreme "Esper-style" training, as Gilgamesh had put it, had ruined the clothes beyond any chance for repair. The orange jumpsuit had been torn, cut, smashed, burned, flash frozen, and zapped into rags stitched together by a handful of threads.

Naruto now wore simple black mesh armor beneath a loose, sleeveless black gi top. Dark red shinobi pants with a leather belt wrapped around his waist. Dragon hide greaves and sandals, harder than steel, protected his feet and legs. A pair of fingerless, dragon hide gloves strengthened his hands. Naruto's two Mage Masher daggers were holstered at his hips, alongside his kunai and shuriken pouches, and Chirijiraden was slung across this back. A replica of Gilgamesh's blood red cloak and mask completed the outfit. The mask was pulled down around Naruto's neck; it usually covered his nose, mouth, and whiskers, while leaving his eyes and hair uncovered. There was no sign of his hitai-ite anywhere.

"Stop touching the trees, Naruto," Kyuubi chuckled. "They aren't all that different from the trees in Gilgamesh's world."

"Guess I'm just used trees made of solid ice or stone," Naruto replied.

"Or electrified."

"Don't remind me," Naruto said with a groan. "I still say Ramuh-jiji pushed me into that electrified tree on purpose. I twitched for a week after that."

"Maybe you shouldn't have called him Thunder Dome?"

"He's the Esper of Storms and is balding," Naruto pointed out. "I was just stating the obvious. Besides you're one to talk; you told Ifrit-sensei he had fleas!"

"He was looking at me like a horny dog," Kyuubi said defensively with a hint of disgust. "It was repulsive."

"At least we got him back with that fire-extinguisher prank," laughed Naruto and Kyuubi joined in. They laughed until they reached the edge of the forest and stood in front of the narrow path to Konoha.

"Last chance to run off and get hitched," Kyuubi said, staring at the path.

"I'm too young and you're an immortal demon imprisoned in my body," Naruto said with a foxy grin, "it'd never work out. There's too much of a chance of you getting mad and eating me."

"Nah, you're too lean now; would've been tastier when you still had that ramen flavored baby fat," Kyuubi replied and ran her tongue over her elongated canine teeth.

"You know it's really hard to tell if you're teasing me or if you're serious about eating me," Naruto smirked and stepped onto the path.

"Are you sure you don't want to go under a Genjutsu or one of my illusions?"

"Nah, we'd have to drop it eventually anyways. Besides, Ryu-uou already warned us about my missing-nin status. We're better off just waiting and checking the gate out before deciding what to do."

"Right, we walk right up to the gates and return like Shinobi returning from a mission, hoping Tsunade still has enough pull to keep you from getting locked up. Yeah, that's going to end well. What's the plan when they want to kill you on sight?" Kyuubi asked, but Naruto was already walking down the path.

"Gaki," Kyuubi muttered under her breath and ran after the teen.

-X-

Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, jokingly known as Konoha's Eternal Chunin, stood at the East Gate, alertly keeping watch over the road leading into Konoha.

_Too alertly,_ Naruto thought from his hiding place in a nearby tree. _Well, Izumo wasn't bad, but Kotetsu was never that responsible before._ Naruto craned his neck and looked past the two Chunin. Standing in the corner of the guard station was a thin man in a black ANUBU cloak. He wasn't, however, wearing a typical ANUBU mask. Instead, he wore a hitai-ite on his forehead. At first, it looked like a standard Konoha hitai-ite, but when Naruto looked closer he saw a trio of straight vertical lines beneath the standard Leaf symbol.

"ROOT," Naruto grumbled.

"I guess Ramuh-san was right about Danzo-teme really stepping it up around here," Kyuubi said. "So much for your plan of just walking through the gate and having Tsunade stopping the Council from executing you on the spot."

"So, new plan," Naruto scrunched his forehead in concentration for a moment. "I got it! I'll just portal right into the middle of the village."

"Remember your portal in the forest? Do the words blood bath and fleshy ribbons ring any bells?" Kyuubi reminded Naruto. "We could use a Genjutsu or illusion like I wanted to in the first place."

"They'd attack us the minute it dropped or they detected it. You could create a distraction by transforming into your true form and attack the outer walls?"

"Tempting," Kyuubi paused, "but no. Something tells me that wouldn't endear you to the villagers very much."

"I could use my Oiroke no Jutsu on the guards?"

"Do that and I'll kill you myself."

"Fine then!" Naruto sat back against the tree trunk with a huff. "Then you come up with a plan."

Kyuubi didn't answer; she just smiled wide, showcasing her canine teeth.

_10 minutes later…_

"For the record, I think this plan sucks," Naruto complained as Kyuubi bound his hands behind his back with a pair of chakra-suppressive handcuffs.

"Duly noted," Kyuubi chuckled and snapped the cuffs closed.

"Ow! Not so tight! Why do you even have these things?"

"Wouldn't you like to know Naruto-kun," Kyuubi whispered seductively into Naruto's ear before giving it a lick.

"Perverted vixen," Naruto blushed.

"Shut up," Kyuubi grinned and slapped a piece of tape on Naruto's mouth, gagging him. "You know you like it."

Naruto rolled his eyes as Kyuubi sealed away his weapons, pulled a black hood over his head, and pushed him out from behind the tree and towards the gates. She followed behind him, chain sword at his back. The moment they appeared on the road, the two Chunin and ROOT guard spotted them.

"Halt!" Izumo shouted, kunai in hand. "State your name, business in Konoha, and present your traveling papers. Failure to comply will be regarded as hostile action." Behind him, Kotetsu and the ROOT agent also drew their own kunai.

"Now, now, no need to be so formal on my account," Kyuubi smiled and reached slowly into her cleavage. Naruto suppressed a smirk when he felt Kyuubi use to just the tiniest bit of chakra, weaving a subtle illusion around the shuriken in her hand. To the Chunin and ROOT agent, the shuriken looked and felt like a proper Hunter-Nin ID when she handed it to Izumo.

"Asher Nariko, Hunter-Nin, at your service," Kyuubi smiled.

"Where is your hitai-ite?" asked Kotetsu.

"Don't have one," Kyuubi replied quickly. "Freelance."

"Unusual, but not unheard of," Izumo said suspiciously. "Who is your prisoner?"

"See for yourself," Kyuubi said and removed Naruto's hood with a showman's flourish. Naruto shook his head and blinked beneath the bright sunlight. He glared at Kyuubi and then at the guards.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Izumo and Kotetsu gasped. "Where did you find him? How did you catch him?"

"Land of Tea," Kyuubi lied. "Fortunately for me, the kids a pervert. All it took was one look at naked body in the hot springs and he passed right out. Easiest grab I ever made."

"You will relinquish control over Uzumaki now," the ROOT agent said coldly. He reached out to grab Naruto, but Kyuubi slapped his hand away with the flat side of her chain sword.

"What do you think this is, my first grab?" she snapped. "I don't turn over my prisoner until I see the Hokage and get paid. The Bingo Book said the kid's worth a lot of money. When I get my money, you get the kid. Otherwise, I'll leave and see if Iwa or Kumo will match your price."

The ROOT agent and Kyuubi glared at each other for a long moment, testing each other's will, before the ROOT agent flinched.

"Very well," he said. "I will escort you to the honorable Council."

"Last time I checked, the Hokage was the one to handle Shinobi business," Kyuubi said. "Isn't that true kid?" she asked and ripped off Naruto's gag.

"OW! That hurt you bitch! When I get out of these cuffs, I swear I'm going to get you back for this," Naruto growled. Kyuubi saw the seriousness in his eyes; he really was going to get her back for this. She suppressed a smirk.

_Well if I'm going to get it later, I might as well deserve it,_ Kyuubi thought wickedly and yanked on Naruto's handcuffs hard.

"Shut up meat," she snapped. "Answer the question."

"Hey Izumo, Kotetsu. You guys still Chunin huh? That's a little sad guys, I figured you'd show at least a little ambition Izumo. Anyway, the bitch is right. The Hokage is supposed to handle Missing-Nin matters, least that's the way it was when I was a Leaf Shinobi," said Naruto.

"Things have changed demon," the ROOT agent said, his tone icy. Naruto bared his teeth at the ROOT agent, but didn't reply. No one noticed Kyuubi tighten her grip on the handle of her chain sword.

_It would be so easy…just one flick of my wrist right now and his head would fly from his neck. Bet it would bounce twice before his ignorant ass hit the ground,_ Kyuubi thought. She repressed her rage and smiled at the ROOT agent and two Chunin.

"Could we get a move on? I'd like to have this settled and get paid before sundown."

"Follow me," the ROOT agent said. "You two remain at your post."

"Yes sir!" Izumo and Kotetsu said in unison, snapping to attention. The ROOT agent nodded to them and turned away, motioning for Kyuubi to follow. Kyuubi smiled and replaced Naruto's hood before following.

"Finally, he's gone," Kotetsu said with a loud sigh of relief once the ROOT agent was out of sight. "I hate it when that jerk is stationed with us. It's like I'm eight years old again and he's my babysitter."

"As opposed to when it is just you and I and I am your babysitter?" Izumo asked with a small grin.

"You know what I mean. The whole village has been messed up like this ever since that gaki left," Kotetsu said. "It's like he took all of Tsunade-sama's strength with him."

"Don't use Naruto as a scapegoat like everyone else in the village," Izumo advised. "The Council had been making this play for years, taking advantage of the Sandaime's peaceful nature and using the absence of a Hokage after the invasion to gather power. This would have happened even if Naruto had never left the village."

"I know—I just feel bad for the gaki. Kid's had it rough enough without being used as Danzo's pawn."

"Me too; it is good that Naruto won't have to bear that pain much longer."

-X-

"This meeting of the honorable Council of Konoha will now come to order!" Danzo called out over the dim of voices. The entire council, both civilian and Shinobi, had gathered in record time when news of an S-Rank missing-nin had been captured and returned to Konoha. The civilians, clan heads, and clan heirs settled down and waited for Danzo to continue.

"My friends," Danzo began, his voice soft and almost sweet sounding. "Today, a missing-nin of great importance to both myself and the village as a whole has been captured and returned to Konoha. It comes to the Council to decide what to do with this missing-nin." Behind Danzo, Shizune, now his "personal assistant", recorded every word with a sad look on her face and a chakra suppression collar around her neck.

"Why isn't Tsunade-sama here?" Nara Shikaku asked lazily. "The Hokage is supposed to deal with all missing-nin situations."

"This particular missing-nin was approved by the Council, not the Hokage," Danzo said. "She is not needed."

"Just who the hell is this missing-nin anyway?" Inuzuka Tsume asked. "I've been clan head for years and I never heard of any missing-nin that wasn't handled by the Hokage."

Danzo started to answer, but was stopped by a knock on the Council Chambers door. "I believe that is them now," he said and nodded to a ROOT ANBU hidden in the corner to open the door.

"Good afternoon, Ladies and Gents," Kyuubi said as she pushed Naruto into the roof. Behind her, the ROOT agent bowed to the Council.

"Danzo-sama, may I present Hunter-Nin Asher Nariko and her quarry," the ROOT agent said before bowing again and departing.

"Ms. Asher…"

"Call me Nariko dear," Kyuubi interrupted, enjoying her little charade.

"Nariko, remove the mask," Danzo ordered.

Kyuubi smirked and whipped the black mask off Naruto's head in a grand gesture, just like she had at the gate. Naruto coughed as the gag was ripped off along with the hood.

"Take it easy! There's no need to rip my mouth off every time you take that hood off," Naruto shouted.

"NARUTO!" the clan heirs shouted out in shock.

"Hey Shino, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shizune-chan: what are you guys doing here? Council-temes, Danzo-teme," Naruto greeted. "What's going on? Where's Baa-chan?"

"We're here to witness how the Council is run and to prepare to one day become a clan head," Shikamaru answered. "It's a drag."

"Why are you in handcuffs?" Choji exclaimed.

"You guys remember when we went after Sasuke? That teme more or less killed me, Kyuubi brought me back, the council wanted to kill me again because of it, I tried to leave with Ero-Sennin, and ended up becoming a Missing-Nin because of it," Naruto explained.

"That is so messed up!" Ino shouted in protest.

"You're telling that to the guy in handcuffs blondie. Kind of obvious," Naruto said and craned his neck around. "If you guys are learning to be clan heads, where's Hinata? Shouldn't she be here too?"

"Silence yourself demon," Hiashi growled. "You should be more concerned about your own fate."

"Save the reunions for later," Danzo interrupted. "Uzumaki Naruto, you are charged with desertion, insubordination, high treason, assault against Leaf Shinobi, failure to complete the mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke, aiding and abetting the Kyuubi no Yoko, being in league with the Kyuubi no Yoko, and failure to follow an order decreed by the honorable Council of Konoha. Punishment for your crimes is death. Execution is to be carried out immediately. ANBU…"

Five ROOT ANBU instantly appeared at Naruto's side, their tipless tantos all pointed at his throat. There was a flash of gold and all five tantos fell to the ground, the ANBU groaning and holding their injured hands.

"There won't be any of that," Kyuubi said and spun one of her chain swords around her finger. "At least not until I get paid."

"You will receive your bounty in due time," Mitokado Homura said. "This is a matter of the utmost importance and must not be delayed."

"Hmm, yeah, I really have a hard time giving a shit," Kyuubi growled. "Money first."

"You insolent bitch!" Haruno Misaki shouted. "After being exposed to the demon for so long, you should be thankful to that we aren't executing you beside him. You will wait in your proper place until we are finished with the demon brat."

"Watch that demon talk, you pink haired whore," Kyuubi whispered and released just a fraction of killing intent, just enough to cause Misaki's heart to skip a beat. Misaki leaned back in her chair, putting more space between her and Kyuubi.

"There is no need for hostility," Danzo said. "I can give you my personal assurance that you will receive the full 500 Ryo bounty after Uzumaki's execution."

"500 Ryo? That's all I'm worth?" Naruto shouted in protest. "Let's get out of here Nariko; I'm sure Iwa would pay a lot more for my ass than these cheapskates."

"Silence demon!" shouted Utatane Koharu.

"The gaki is right. The last Bingo Book I saw had a lot more zeroes in it. 500 Ryo, don't make me laugh," Kyuubi said.

"This is not the time or place for negotiations," Danzo said. "We can discuss this after the execution…"

"THERE WILL BE NO EXECUTION!" Tsunade shouted as she stormed into the Council chamber, knocking two ROOT ANBU out of the way in the process.

"Lady Tsunade, so glad you could join us," Danzo smiled.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure the messenger coming to get me got lost on the road of life or some other bullshit," Tsunade said as she took her seat at the council table. She did her best not to look at Shizune. Ever since Danzo had taken power and "taken" Shizune as his assistant, it had been more painful for Tsunade than Naruto's disappearance. She shuddered to think what Shizune had been put through in order to keep her in line…

"Hello Naruto-kun."

"Hey Granny," Naruto grinned. "Looking young as usual."

A single tick mark appeared on Tsunade's forehead. "Keep joking gaki and I might actually consider letting Danzo execute you."

"I missed you too Baa-chan."

Tsunade smiled warmly at Naruto and refocused her attention on Danzo. "What is going on?"

"We are simply passing judgment on a missing-nin. This clearly falls under the Council's jurisdiction as stated in Council Ordinance 502, addendum 53: any Shinobi that is given Missing-Nin status by the Council will fall under the jurisdiction of the Council and will be subject to the Council's ruling."

"If I hear one more Council Ordinance, I'm going to rip my own ears off and beat you to death with them Danzo," Tsunade muttered.

"I am merely stating what is happening here," Danzo smiled. "Feel free to stay and watch, but your input will not be needed."

"I am Hokage and I will add my input whenever and wherever I please," Tsunade growled.

"Of course Hokage-sama," Danzo nodded. "I just wanted to remind you about the limits of the Hokage's influence."

"I'm sure you did. Now, Naruto will be released to the Torture and Interrogation Force to determine whether or not he is a threat to the Leaf. Their investigation will determine whether or not Naruto will be punished or if he will be reinstated into the Shinobi corps."

"I'm afraid you may have mistaken my words earlier," Danzo said. "The Council has authority here and will vote for execution. I hereby call for a vote for the execution of Missing-Nin Uzumaki Naruto."

"Second," Misaki said quickly.

"All those in favor?"

"AYE!" the entire civilian portion of the council said in unison.

"Aye," said Hyuuga Hiashi coldly.

"Aye," whispered Yamanaka Inoichi, still terrified from his meeting with Kyuubi six years ago.

"Dad! How could you?" shouted Ino.

"Be quiet," hissed Inoichi. "I'll tell you later Ino."

"All opposed?" asked Danzo.

"Nay," said Akimichi Choza.

"Nay," said Aburame Shibi.

"Nay," voted Nara Shikaku.

"Fuck no," Inuzuka Tsume growled.

"Nay, for what it's worth," Tsunade said.

"The Ayes have it," Danzo with a victorious smile. "Sentence will be carried out immediately."

"What about my money?" Kyuubi asked.

"Forget your money; don't I at least get a last meal?" Naruto yelled.

"You cannot do this Danzo!" Tsunade yelled. "You don't know what you are doing?"

"Need I remind you that you are not in a position to make any sort of demands, Lady Tsunade," Danzo said and glanced at Shizune with his good eye. Shizune shuddered and Tsunade bit down on her tongue hard to keep from uttering a cry.

"What I meant to say is that the last time Naruto was near death, Kyuubi brought him back. We don't know what sort of damage that did to the Yondaime's seal because Naruto left before Jiraiya could examine it in detail. Nor do we know what sort of changes may have been made in the last six years. Killing Naruto now may release the Kyuubi no Yoko on us," Tsunade said as emotionally neutral as she could.

Danzo bored into Tsunade with his good eye. "Sounds like a last ditch attempt to spare the boy's life. But you do raise a valid point. What does the Council say?"

"We cannot release the Kyuubi!" Misaki exclaimed. "It will destroy the village for sure!"

"It would be wisest to allow a Fuuinjutsu expert examine the seal before execution," Shibi stated. "Master Jiraiya would be best; he is most qualified."

"Jiraiya is locked in prison for defying the Council and disobeying orders," Homura said. "There must be someone else."

"Jiraiya was the Yondaime's teacher and the only one who knows enough about the Shiki Fuujin to properly examine it," Tsunade said. She smirked at Danzo, knowing she was absolutely right.

"Very well," Danzo said, "but he will examine Uzumaki tomorrow in an ANBU interrogation room and will be under ROOT supervision."

"Oh certainly," Tsunade rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Shall I shut down the entire Shinobi forces for you too?"

"That will not be necessary," Danzo smiled slightly, not allowing Tsunade's jabs to get to him. "Take Uzumaki to the special chakra suppression cells in Konoha Prison. He is not to see Jiraiya under any circumstance." A ROOT shinobi appeared at Naruto's side and grabbed his cuffed arms. He was about to take Naruto away when Kyuubi stabbed a chain sword into the council table.

"Excuse me, but aren't we forgetting something here. What about my money? You aren't taking Naruto-kun here anywhere before I get paid."

"Your payment will be settled after the execution," Danzo said sternly. "Until then, you will remain in Konoha as a guest of the Council."

"If you try and stiff me and I will take your last eye as payment," Kyuubi growled and pointed her other chain sword at Danzo. She ripped her chain sword out of the table and gave it a quick spin before sheathing them both.

"Of course. Take him away," Danzo ordered and the ROOT Shinobi grabbed Naruto and disappeared in a shunshin.

Kyuubi stared at the spot where Naruto had been standing until she felt Tsunade glaring at her. Kyuubi smirked at the amount of killing intent the Hokage was directing at her and turned around to address the woman.

"Tsunade-sama, allow me to introduce myself. I am Asher Nariko, Hunter-Nin," Kyuubi said and, without warning, hugged the Hokage. "It is an honor to meet the greatest kunoichi in history. If you have need of a skilled Hunter-Nin, please consider me."

The entire council chamber held its breath, waiting for Tsunade to punch this woman's head off. Kyuubi smirked and let go of Tsunade before stepping away.

"I have my own Hunter-Nin, thank you," Tsunade growled, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"I understand, Hokage-sama. But I'd ask you remember me just in case," Kyuubi said, winked at Tsunade, nodded to the Council, and vanished in a burst of bright flame.

_Brazen bitch!_, Tsunade cursed as she stormed out of the Council chamber and out onto the streets. She was halfway back to her office when she felt something scratch her chest. She stopped in her tracks, reached into her cleavage (causing a nearby civilian man to pass out from a massive nosebleed), and pulled out a small piece of paper. _How did this get there? _she thought, unfolded the paper, and looked down at it. On one side it said:

_Asher Nariko_

_Hunter-Nin for Hire_

_I Am What Stands Between You and Death_

The other side was blank. Tsunade turned it over several times in her hands and frowned.

"She's nothing but another merc," Tsunade grumbled. She was about to throw it away when she saw something shimmer on the back of the card.

She held the card up to the sun and saw a series of letters begin to sprawl across the back of the card.

_If you want to save Naruto-kun, meet me on your head at Midnight._

_N.A. aka K_

_What is this?_ Tsunade thought. _First she turns Naruto over to the Council for his bounty and now she wants to save him? Something isn't right here._

-X-

Konoha Prison was the apotheosis of all prisons; it was cool, dank, and dark with rows of barred cells along narrow corridors. Naruto had never been there in his time as a Konoha Shinobi, but he had heard about it and some of the more "elaborate" cells in the bowels of the prison.

He appeared in the prison courtyard beside the ROOT Shinobi that took him from the council chamber. Naruto stumbled upon their arrival and fell face first onto the ground.

"On your feet demon," the ROOT said while he pulled on Naruto's handcuffed arms.

"That hurts," Naruto replied.

"Be silent and move," he growled and twirled a kunai in his free hand, just wishing Naruto would give him half a reason to use it. Naruto saw the spinning kunai and just smiled at the ROOT before doing what he was told.

The pair marched into the prison complex and immediately turned away from the rest of the general prison population. They walked down many flights of stairs, each stairwell darker and deeper into the complex than the last, until there was not a speck of natural light to be found. When they finally reached the bottom of the complex, the ROOT Shinobi pushed Naruto down a tiny hallway with doors on either side. Each door had a small, square window cut into the top for guards to look into and a flap at the bottom for passing food through. Naruto peeked through some of the windows as he past. Most of the cells were empty; those that weren't housed criminals so foul, it would be an insult to the rest of the natural world to call them animals. Naruto recognized one from an old Bingo Book—an Iwa war criminal from the Third Great Shinobi War that raped, killed, and ate over a dozen Konoha kunoichi before capture—and one familiar face.

"Hey Mizuki-teme, how's the food down here?" Naruto called before being pushed along the corridors.

"It—it can't be…Uzumaki Naruto?" a voice from behind the door asked before high pitched laughter/screams echoed out of the cell. "This is unexpected this is I wonder wonder what has brought you here have they killed the demon is the demon here to hurt poor Mizuki again Master Orochimaru wouldn't like that no no he doesn't like when Mizuki fails no he doesn't…"

_That doesn't sound anything like the Mizuki I remember,_ Naruto thought. "What happened to him?"

"Broke out with the Idiot Brothers a few years ago, tried to steal the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage's office again. Tsunade-sama caught him and punched him across the entire village. His brains' been a little scrambled since he landed," the ROOT Shinobi answered and shoved Naruto farther down the hall.

The ROOT Shinobi stopped Naruto in front of an empty cell and opened the door. He shoved Naruto into the cell and made a Tiger Seal to activate the cell's chakra suppression seals. All along the walls, floor, and ceiling blood red seals came to life and Naruto felt his chakra deplete even more. He felt lightheaded and fell to one knee.

"That'll keep your demon in its place until your execution tomorrow," the ROOT Shinobi chuckled as he removed Naruto's handcuffs and left, slamming the cell door shut.

Naruto waited until the ROOT Shinobi's footsteps faded away before he sat up in the cell. He looked around, measuring his new living space. His cell was two meters by three, all solid stone. There was no bed, not even a shred of a blanket, and a bucket served for a toilet. The entire cell was covered by chakra suppression seals and backup suppression seals and even redundant backups for the backups.

"Well this is interesting," Naruto said out loud and rapped his hand against a stone wall. The seal on the wall pulsed and grew hot when he touched it. "Heh, can't even touch the damn walls."

"I hope you don't roll when you sleep," a new voice called out through the wall. "Rolling into those seals will brand the marks into your back if you don't wake up right away."

Naruto cocked his head at the sound of the voice. It had been six years since he heard it.

"Thanks for the tip Ero-Sennin," Naruto called back.

On the other side of the wall, Jiraiya nearly fell over. "Naru—Naruto-kun? Is that really you? I heard Mizuki blabbering as they brought you down, but I thought he was just going off on another of his rants."

"Nope, it's me in the flesh, Ero-Sennin. How you been?"

"How've I been? I'VE BEEN LOCKED IN THIS STUPID CELL FOR SIX YEARS! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"I've been training with Ero-Esper, Titan-san, Ramuh-jiji—you remember all them from before, right?—Shiva-chan, Ifrit-sensei, and Ryu-uou. I just got back today."

"And they threw you down in this pit with me, huh?" Jiraiya said with a humph. "I'm surprised that baka Council didn't execute you on the spot."

"They wanted to," Naruto laughed. "Baa-chan convinced them that since the last time I died Kyuubi brought me back, the seal on my belly needed to be inspected by a Fuuinjutsu expert before they kill me again."

"A Fuuinjutsu expert like me," Jiraiya muttered. "For what it's worth gaki, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you the way I should have all those years. I'm sorry you got thrown into this hellhole."

"Don't worry Ero-Sennin, I forgave you for that stuff years ago," Naruto said. "And as far as being locked up in here, let's just say everything is going according to plan. Baa-chan won't let me down."

"Leaving it in Tsunade's hands is a huge mistake," Jiraiya growled.

"She won't let me down," Naruto repeated confidently.

"She let me down!" Jiraiya yelled. "She let me rot down her for six years, Naruto! SIX YEARS!"

"I understand you're angry, but her hands must've been tied. You know Tsunade wouldn't abandon you…unless she caught you peeking again?" Naruto couldn't help tease the self-proclaimed Super Pervert.

"I haven't done any "research" on Tsunade since we were teenagers and she beat me within an inch of my life. Course I haven't done any sort of "research" in six years. Kami, I miss the hot springs…"Jiraiya trailed off for a minute, his mind wandering off to thoughts of sexy, nubile kunoichi bathing, helping wash one another's backs and fronts, leaning in for an exploratory kis…

"HEY ERO-SENNIN, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Naruto shouted, pulling Jiraiya out of his perverted day dream. "I'm trying to tell you what Kyu-chan's plan is and you're off in ta-ta land."

"Can you blame me?" Jiraiya shrugged from his cell. "Go ahead, baka, tell me what you got."

-X-

_11:59 pm_

_Hokage Monument_

Tsunade paced across her monument head, growing more and more impatient. She had been waiting for nearly ten minutes and Tsunade wasn't used to waiting.

"Enough of this," she growled. "I'm the Hokage, who the hell does this bitch think she is, making me wait?"

"I didn't make you wait," Kyuubi said as she stepped out of the shadowy tree line. "My note said midnight, you arrived early."

"What's going on Nariko?" Tsunade demanded and got right in Kyuubi's face. "First you show up and turn Naruto-kun over to the Council and then you sneak a note into my cleavage saying you want to save him! Just who the hell are you?"

"Someone who loves Naruto just as much as you do," Kyuubi said and looked down at the ground. "And my name isn't Nariko."

"WHO…ARE…YOU?" Tsunade growled.

Kyuubi didn't answer; instead she burst into bright flame and resumed her true form, albeit human sized. She lashed her tails from side to side for the astonished Tsunade before transforming back to her human form.

"I am the Kyuubi no Yoko, both in title and name. I am the Biju sealed within Naruto-kun."

"How—how is this possible?" Tsunade cried out and stumbled backwards. "The Yondaime's seal…"

"Is still in place," Kyuubi reassured her and quickly told her story to Tsunade. She told the Hokage about being influenced and driven mad by Uchiha Madara's Sharingan, how Ramuh had cleansed her of the Sharingan's taint, how she was still connected and imprisoned inside Naruto, and how she was granted a limited amount of freedom from the seal.

"Being captured like this was the only way Naruto and I could get into the village safely and without a fight," Kyuubi explained. "We knew he was considered a Missing-Nin, but Naruto had absolute faith in you that you wouldn't let anything happen to him right away. And he was right, you did wonderfully."

"Glad I'm not a total loss," Tsunade muttered. "So what's the plan, Nariko—I mean Kyuubi no Yoko—I mean Biju-sama…"

"Relax Tsunade. I assure you I'm not going to bite your head off," Kyuubi smiled. "Please just call me Kyuubi."

"Sorry, this is just a lot to take in all at once," Tsunade said and rubbed the back of her head embarrassed. "Kami I could use a drink."

"After Naruto is freed and safe, I'll buy," Kyuubi smiled.

"You said that you and Naruto planned all this. So what's next?"

"That depends on you, Hokage-sama. How far are you willing to go to reclaim your village?"

-X-

_The Next Morning_

_ANBU Interrogation Center_

Naruto waited in an interrogation room, occasionally glancing at the mirror along one of the walls that he knew was a one way observation mirror. His hands and feet were cuffed to the uncomfortable chair he was sitting in, his chakra still completely suppressed. Other than the chair and mirror, the room was completely bare and empty.

_I wonder who's watching behind that mirror, _Naruto thought and, just for the hell of it, stuck his tongue out at the mirror.

Behind the mirror, Tsunade, Kyuubi, and Ibiki suppressed a laugh while Danzo, Hiashi, Koharu, and Homura seethed in anger.

Naruto tapped his feet and leaned back and forth in his chair. "C'mon, let's go, I'm getting bored here. Wake Ero-Sennin's old ass up and get him in here already."

"Mind your manners gaki," Jiraiya said as he was shoved into the room by a pair of ROOT Shinobi. One of the ROOT pulled out another chair and placed it in front of Naruto. Jiraiya sat down in the chair and looked at his long lost student.

"You've grown gaki," he said softly. "Somehow you look even more like your old man."

"You look like hell, Ero-Sennin," Naruto replied. Even though they had talked all night, neither teacher nor student had the chance to see the other. Six years in solitary confinement had taken its toll on Jiraiya. The lack of moving, constant chakra suppression, and poor diet had ravaged the Sennin's once powerful and muscular body into a feeble and emaciated form. His clothes hung off him like rags and his hands were cuffed in front of him. Jiraiya's hair was longer and no longer in carefully arranged spikes; it hung limply in greasy locks. But it was his eyes that hurt Naruto the most. They were dull and lifeless, all the humor and joy taken from them over his imprisonment.

"I've seen better days," Jiraiya nodded and glared at the mirror. Behind the mirror, Tsunade shivered and bit on her bottom lip hard to keep from crying out. _It's like he's looking right through me…Oh, Jiraiya, what happened to the man I grew up with? Kami, can you ever forgive me?_

"Let's get this over with gaki." He reached forward and pulled up Naruto's shirt. "Channel some chakra into the seal so I can make sure everything is working right."

"Um, kind of difficult here Ero-Sennin," Naruto smirked and rattled his cuffed hands and feet. Jiraiya rolled his eyes and looked towards the mirror.

"A little help here," he called.

Behind the mirror, Ibiki began to move towards the door.

"Where are you going?" demanded Homura.

"I am going to take off those suppression cuffs," Ibiki said. "Master Jiraiya cannot do anything if Naruto cannot focus chakra through the seal."

"You cannot free him!" Koharu shouted. "He will unleash the Kyuubi upon us!"

"There is no other way to examine the Yondaime's seal," Tsunade pointed out. "The Shiki Fuujin seal works both with and off Naruto and Kyuubi's chakra. Those suppression cuffs barely allow it to work at all, much less examine it properly."

"Fine!" Danzo spat, "But I want half dozen guards with their weapons at that demon boy's throat in there before those cuffs are removed."

A moment later, six ROOT filled the small interrogation room; five had their tipless tantos drawn and pointed at Naruto's throat, the other held his at Jiraiya's. When everyone was settled, Ibiki entered the room and removed Naruto's cuffs and anklets.

"Mmm, that feels better already," Naruto said as he felt his chakra returning.

"Do not move!" one of the ROOT ordered and pressed his blade a little harder into Naruto's throat.

"Jeez, alright already. I get the point," Naruto said and giggled at this own pun. Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"Think we could do this sometime today? It's almost lunch time and the prison serves a mean gruel some days."

"Keep your pants on Ero-Sennin," Naruto smirked and lifted up his shirt. He channeled a tiny bit of chakra into the Shiki Fuujin seal and it appeared. Jiraiya bent over, stopped to glare at the ROOT holding a tanto at his throat, and peered down at Naruto.

_What the hell happened to the seal? _Jiraiya thought, though he masked his surprise well. _The basis of Minato-kun's seal is still in one piece, but there are all these new marks along its edges. These must be the all the changes Naruto mentioned that Ramuh made to let Kyuubi out. I wonder what she looks like? I hope she's a blonde like Tsunade…_

"Hey, Ero-Sennin, you're getting that far off, perverted look in your eye again and it's making me a little nervous with my shirt off here," Naruto said uncomfortably. "Are we done yet?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, we're done gaki," Jiraiya said and stood out of his chair. He nodded towards the observation mirror.

Behind it, Danzo smiled. "And there it is Lady Tsunade. The seal is completely intact and everything is in order," he said with an air of triumph and walked out of the room, Homura, Hiashi, and Koharu close at his heels. Tsunade and Kyuubi followed. They entered the interrogation room just a step behind Danzo and his lackeys, but were already too late.

"Since the Yondaime's seal is in correct order, I now sentence you to death for crimes committed against Konoha," Danzo announced.

"I'm asking you once more to stop this farce Danzo," Tsunade said. "Don't do something you'll regret."

"My only regret is that my position as head of the Council prevents me from doing this myself," Danzo grinned venomously. "Proceed."

Before anyone else in the room could act, the ROOT closest to Naruto grabbed him by his blonde hair, tilted his head back, and viciously slashed Naruto's throat! Life flickered in the teen's dimming eyes and he sagged forward, limp.

"NARUTO!" Tsunade screamed.

The entire room waited, praying that the Kyuubi no Yoko wouldn't burst out of Naruto and consume their bodies and burn their souls.

Naruto's body burst into smoke with a loud _POOF!_

"A Kage Bushin!" Homura shouted.

"You were expecting anything less?" Naruto said from behind them, blocking the doorway. "I'm almost insulted that you bakas forgot my signature jutsu already."

"But the chakra suppression cuffs and cell…?" wondered Hiashi.

"I've been able to create over a thousand Kage Bushin since I was twelve years old. Even with your seals and cuffs, my bushin had plenty of chakra to spare before you slit his poor throat."

"Why the charade?" Danzo growled. "Why did you come back at all?"

"I missed the ramen and all the people who love and adore me," Naruto said sarcastically and nodded. Immediately, Kyuubi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya sprang into action.

Tsunade sprang at Danzo like a wild beast, grabbed him by his bandaged arm and throat, and slammed him against the wall.

Kyuubi spun her chain swords over her head and wrapped Homura, Koharu, and Hiashi in the golden chains. A twist of her wrist tightened the chains and prevented the three from escaping or using jutsu.

The six ROOT surrounded Jiraiya, their tantos still aimed at his vitals. Their eyes darted to the still seated Sennin and to his handcuffs.

"I know what you guys are thinking," Jiraiya stated calmly. "You're thinking that even though I've been locked up for six years and have severe chakra and muscle atrophy, I used to be the strongest of the Sannin. And you're wondering if you have the balls to take me on, even though I'm still handcuffed. Well, I've got something to tell you boys. You know my handcuffs? I picked them," Jiraiya smiled. He stood up and held out his free hands to the ROOT. Jiraiya relished his opponents' stunned faces as he leapt to his feet. He took out four of the ROOT with a single spinning kick and knocked the remaining two out by clunking their heads together. The hollow _thunk_ was the sweetest sound he'd heard in months.

Meanwhile, Danzo was furious. He glared at Tsunade with his good eye and struggled to escape her iron grip.

"Release me at once Tsunade or it will be your precious Shizune that suffers for this outrage!"

"I've suffered enough thanks to you," Shizune said as she entered the room. She was dressed in her usual kimono, but her face was covered in half-healed bruises and cuts, as well as on her exposed arms and legs.

"Shizune!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"How did you escape?" Danzo snarled before Tsunade tightened her grip on his throat. "What…happened to my…men?"

"What do you think I've been doing the whole time you were fooling around with my Kage Bushin?" Naruto smirked.

-X-

_12:05 am_

_Last night_

"That depends on you, Hokage-sama. How far are you willing to go to reclaim your village?" Kyuubi asked.

"I would have left Konoha years ago if that bastard Danzo didn't have Shizune under his personal lock and key. I would rather see Konoha burn than let that war hawk continue to drive it into the ground like this."

"I don't think we're going to have to do anything that drastic," Naruto said as he walked out of the shadows behind Kyuubi, armed with his blades and mask down.

"Na-Naruto? But you're locked up in prison…"

"Kage Bushin, Baa-chan," Naruto smiled. Tsunade nodded and then walked over to Naruto with her arms open. Naruto repeated the gesture and closed the distance.

"GAKI!" Tsunade yelled and punched Naruto in the chin with a super powered uppercut. Naruto shot into the air, flipped, and plummeted back down only to be caught in a suffocating hug. Kyuubi nearly fell to the ground laughing.

"Don't you ever, ever, ever do that to me again!" Tsunade said as she squeezed Naruto.

"What the hell was that for?" Naruto screamed. "I was told to leave, remember? Me and Ero-Sennin were going to get out of town and I got attacked and rescued by the Espers."

"I know, but you could have at least sent me a message saying you were alive! Do you know how painful it was not knowing if you were alive or dead all this time?" Tsunade said and squeezed a little harder until Naruto's face disappeared inside Tsunade's cleavage.

In Konoha prison, Jiraiya felt a sudden pang of pain, as is someone somewhere was fulfilling his life's dream.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said after he escaped from Tsunade's cleavage. "I didn't have any time to even write a message; I was training 24/7 until this morning when we arrived."

"It's ok, Naruto-kun," Tsunade said and released Naruto. "So," she said, transitioning back into "Hokage" mode, "I'm assuming there's a plan."

"Of course, though I have to give the credit to Kyu-chan," Naruto said. "She's better at this strategy stuff than me."

"Now that I am inside the village and that the Council thinks Naruto is secured in prison, we can make our move. When Jiraiya goes to inspect Naruto's seal, all those Council morons will be there to watch. Danzo will probably even have the balls to order Naruto's execution right there on the spot. That's when the real Naruto will show up and we'll take out Danzo and whatever guards he has around."

"I get Danzo," Tsunade growled. "What about Jiraiya, how will he know about the plan?"

"My Kage Bushin is filling him in through the prison walls now," Naruto answered.

"I like the plan," Tsunade said after a moment of thought. "But there is a big problem. Danzo-teme has Shizune."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Didn't you see her in the Council Chamber?"

"I only absorb whatever my clone experienced after its dispelled."

"Danzo took her hostage when you left, an insurance policy to keep me in line. He likes to parade her around whenever he needs to remind me that he is the one really in charge of Konoha," Tsunade explained venomously. "There is no way we can take out Danzo so long as he has Shizune."

"We aren't going to get another chance at this," Kyuubi said. "Tomorrow is our only shot."

"I won't put Shizune in anymore danger than she already has been," Tsunade said adamantly.

"I'll take care of Shizune; just tell me where they keep her," growled Naruto, his killing intent almost palpable.

"There is a series of tunnels starting beneath the Hokage Tower," Tsunade said. "They sprawl all over the village; my grandfather made them to serve as evacuation routes. Most haven't been used in years, but rumor has it that Danzo's ROOT headquarters is somewhere down there."

"Gottcha. Kyu-chan will stay with you, she needs to stay visible so Danzo doesn't get suspicious."

"At least let me send Kakashi or at least one of the other Rookie 9 to go with you," Tsunade pleaded. "I don't care how much training you've done in six years, you can't take on an entire elite army in their own headquarters!"

"Have a little faith Baa-chan," Naruto winked, "and don't oversell things tomorrow. We all know your acting sucks." And, in a flickering whirlwind, Naruto teleported away.

"Hmm, his control is getting better. He only demolished one tree and barely nicked my arm," Kyuubi said and wiped a streak of blood off her arm. Tsunade watched as it healed instantly.

"Aren't you worried about him?" she asked.

"About Naruto? Nah," Kyuubi smirked. "He's been through rougher scrapes with and without me over the last six years."

"Really? Like what?" Tsunade asked, curious.

"Well let me tell you about some of his training. Ever hear of rabbit running?" Kyuubi smiled.

-X-

Naruto reappeared just in front of the Hokage Tower, the chaotic whirlwind that surrounded him tore deep scratches into the ground and into the Tower door. Naruto pulled his mask up and entered the building.

_Now if I was a hidden passageway leading to a secret paramilitary organization that exists without the public's or even the Hokage's full knowledge, where would I be?_ Naruto thought to himself as he wandered through the Tower. Naruto knew from his childhood pranks that there was always someone inside the Tower, a secretary or clerk, not counting the many Shinobi that should be on duty.

Naruto crept through the hallways of the Tower, slipping through the shadows and along the walls and ceiling when needed. The Tower hadn't changed in six years, just like the sixty before it.

Naruto crept past the Hokage's office, tempted to mess with the sleeping Chunin that was supposed to be guarding it, but lacked the time.

_I'll be back for you later,_ Naruto mentally promised. He walked past and entered what was labeled as a storeroom. _Since when do storerooms need both physical and chakra locks?_

A quick bash with the hilt of one of his Mage Mashers took care of the physical lock and, after a moment of trial and error, Naruto overloaded the chakra lock. It hadn't been that much different from the one Jiraiya had placed on his scroll six years ago. The storeroom was filled with boxes of old mission files and there was even a box full of ANBU masks that had never been used. Naruto wandered deeper into the storeroom and rapped his knuckles on the back wall.

_Thack…thack…thack…thunk._

Naruto smiled and rapped on the hollow spot again. He looked and felt around until he touched a small switch. Naruto tripped the switch and a part of the wall sank in and moved aside. Naruto stared down a dark passageway the led into the ground.

Naruto entered and the wall slid back into place behind him. Naruto squinted in the darkness; he could just barely see more than a few feet in front of walked down the corridor, his hand on the wall for guidance, for nearly a mile until the path branched out into a fork. Naruto stared at the entrance to all three paths; each looked and even smelled the exact same, but Naruto knew that the wrong path was probably filled with all sorts of nasty traps.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu," Naruto said and three shadow clones sprang into existence. Without a word, each clone ran down a different path while the real Naruto waited patiently.

"One down," Naruto muttered as the knowledge of the center path clone hit him, mainly the image of a dead end and a large falling boulder.

"And there's two," as the right side clone met its end in a pit of stone spikes followed by a Katon jutsu.

Naruto waited for the third clone to meet a gruesome end, but instead he received information of a trip wire and a reinforced door. Naruto ran down the left path and jumped over the hidden trip wire. Just for kicks, Naruto tossed a shuriken through the trip wire. A pair of massive scythe-like blades swung down from the ceiling, aimed perfectly to slice an intruder's head clean off.

Naruto smirked and ran towards the door. It was strongly built with massive beams of steel and wood covering its frame. It looked like something that should be guarding a fortress or castle, not something guarding a hidden base.

"These guys don't know what subtle is, huh?" wondered Naruto. "They aren't even all that original, calling their group ROOT and then having their base underground."

Not wanting to just barge in the front door, Naruto walked straight up the front of the door and looked around. He found a tiny ventilation shaft at the top of the doorway and he popped it open with the tip of a Mage Masher. It was a narrow shaft, but didn't look very long. Naruto adjusted his cloak and sword and crept into the shaft. He crawled for about a minute before the shaft suddenly dropped out from under him and Naruto fell out the bottom.

Naruto landed flat on his back hard, making a terrible racket. He cracked his neck and back to get the kinks out and scanned around to make sure no one had heard the noise. He heard voices approaching and quickly ran in the opposite direction. He hid around a corner as a pair of ROOT patrolled over to the broken vent. They checked out the broken vent, one muttered something about pain-in-the-ass rats, and they continued on their way.

Naruto let out a quiet sigh of relief and crept down the main corridor of the hidden base. He wandered until he found a large, red wooden door. Its intricate frame design and quality of the wood far exceeded the rest of the base and Naruto paused in front of it.

"He should have just put up a sign saying "Danzo-teme's Office,"" Naruto muttered while he picked the lock. When the lock wouldn't' open, Naruto shoved one of his Mage Mashers through the door jam, shearing the lock in half. Naruto enter the office silently and quickly looked around.

The office was finely decorated, borderline extravagant. The floor was highly polished hardwood and the desk was far fancier than the one the Hokage used. A marble bust of Danzo rested on the corner of the desk, a testament to Danzo's vanity. A hardwood book case occupied an entire wall of the room, filled with medical journals, mission logs, and jutsu scrolls. A painting of Konoha hung from a bare wall.

"This will make for interesting reading," Naruto said when he saw a letter on top of the desk. He gathered up all the loose papers and books on the desk and sealed them into a blank scroll. He did the same for all the books on the shelves. Naruto even tore down the painting to revel a small safe. Naruto pressed his ear against the safe and spun the dials, but couldn't figure out the combination and couldn't waste time guessing. With a burst of strength, Naruto pulled the entire safe out of the wall and sealed it into the scroll.

Once he was finished in Danzo's office, Naruto crept back out into the main corridor. He kept his senses keen, listening and looking for any clue as to where Shizune may be hidden. Naruto didn't have to search for long.

"YOU STUPID SLAG!" a man's voice shouted. Naruto raced in the direction of the voice and nearly ran into the same pair of ROOT from earlier. They were laughing in front of a barred door.

"What'd the bitch do to you this time?" one of the ROOT asked.

"She bit me!" squealed the voice from inside the door. "Get in here and help me teach her to mind her manners!"

"I like the sound of that," grinned the second ROOT and he began fiddling with a chain of keys. Naruto heard the door unlock and waited for the ROOT to enter. He followed quietly, just behind them, and caught the door just before it closed. Naruto entered the room as quietly as he could and nearly gagged.

The room was nothing more than a glorified prison cell. It was barely wide enough to fit all three men side by side. The room stank of bad sake and spilt blood. An empty syringe lay discarded on the floor beside a trio of cheap sake bottles. Naruto felt his stomach tighten when he saw Shizune.

She was barely dressed in a series of filthy rags that hung off her body loosely. Her face, exposed arms, and legs were covered in cuts and bruises and were slick with sweat; even her hair was matted with sweat and blood. The chakra suppression collar was still around her neck. Blood dripped from her mouth, proof that Shizune had bitten the guard and deeply.

"You would've thought that there wouldn't be any fight left in her after all these years," one of the ROOT said.

"We've beaten her enough. I think it's about time we did something else," the bleeding guard snarled and unbuckled his pants. "Give this slag what she really deserves. She hasn't had a treat for a while."

That was all Naruto had to hear. He made four lightning fast hand seals and unleashed a powerful wave of wind. The three guards and Shizune were blown back by the blast. The guards, being standing, took the full brunt of the wind and were blown off their feet and into the wall. Shizune's matted hair was merely ruffled from her position on the ground.

Naruto ran to Shizune's side and gently reached out to touch her. She screamed and scurried away from Naruto as fast as she could.

"Shizune, it's me. It's Naruto, it's Naruto!"

Shizune stopped retreating and looked up at Naruto. Confusion flicked across her eyes for a moment before she recognized Naruto.

"Naruto? What…what are you doing here?" she asked in a daze.

"What happened to you Shizune-chan?

"Danzo's hostage. Please get this collar off me Naruto. The guard injected something into me before I bit him."

Naruto examined the collar for a moment before snapping it off Shizune's neck. Shizune's posture immediately straightened and her hands began to glow blue. Starting at her heart, Shizune ran her Shosen Jutsu over her own body, clearing away whatever drugs the guard had injected her. Simultaneously, her cuts and bruises healed and faded away.

"Are you ok now?" Naruto asked.

"I think so. I don't know what was in that syringe, but it wasn't anything near as strong as my Shikomishindan poisons."

"What about everything else?" Naruto asked and pointed at the now stirring guards.

Darkness crawled over Shizune's face. "That one's been my guard for six years. He's one of Danzo's favorites," Shizune growled and viciously kicked the bleeding guard. When she did, Naruto saw Shizune's back for the first time.

"Did he do that to you?" Naruto growled.

"Only when Danzo was too busy to do it himself," Shizune answered sadly.

-X-

_Present Time_

"Here are the letters I found on Danzo's desk. Danzo has been in conspiring with not only Orochimaru, but also the Sandaime Tsuchikage and the Yondaime Raikage. He's been dealing goods and Shinobi with them for years," Naruto said. "He even promised the Raikage one male and one female Hyuuga for breeding the Byakugan in Kumo."

"You bastard!" Hiashi growled and struggled to escape Kyuubi's chains. Kyuubi just grinned and held the chains tighter.

"Cut the act Hiashi," she said, "you're named in the letters as well. What kind of a sick man offers his own daughter for breeding stock?"

Two flares of killing intent flooded the room: one from Naruto towards Hiashi, the other was aimed at Danzo from Tsunade.

"What did Danzo do to you Shizune?" Tsunade asked, not taking her eyes off Danzo.

Shizune didn't speak; instead she turned her back to the group of Shinobi and politicians. She shrugged off her kimono and exposed her back to them. From the base of her neck, along her sides, and across the top of her buttocks, Shizune's back was a patchwork of overlapping scars. Each scar was a different length, but shared the same width: roughly the same width as a kunai blade or a whip.

"You rotten sonofabitch!" Tsunade howled and squeezed Danzo's throat until the old war hawk turned a bright shade of purple. "I'll kill you!"

"Wha—happen—ed—my men?" Danzo choked out.

"Your men got what they deserved," Naruto growled.

"How dare you!" growled Danzo, using his good hand to pry Tsunade's fingers open enough for him to speak easier. "Those were my men; they were good men!"

"Good men?" snarled Shizune. "Good men don't tie women to a wall for their sick boss to whip them with futon jutsu! Good men don't drug and rape defenseless women! Good men don't watch and laugh while they drink and wait for their turn!" Shizune yelled and pumped all her chakra into her right fist. She reached over Tsunade's arm and punched Danzo in the face. The blow knocked Danzo backwards and ripped him out of Tsunade's grasp. He crashed into the wall, but didn't go through it; Shizune's chakra control and super powered punches were nearly as good as Tsunade's, but her anger was getting the best of her.

She jumped down on top of Danzo and continued raining down chakra-enhanced punches.

"Six years!" she screamed, tears falling down her cheeks as she pounded vengeance into Danzo's face. "Six years of torture and humiliation! I'll kill you, you sick sonofabitch!"

No one moved as Shizune pounded Danzo; not even when his face was no longer recognizable. All the men in the room did a slight involuntary wince and cringe when she turned her attention lower and drove her fist in-between Danzo's legs.

Shizune's blows slowed as her rage depleted and exhaustion took hold. She stopped and looked down at her handiwork. Danzo's face, neck, chest, and groin were bloody mush, his bandages soaked through with blood. Shizune stood up, breathing hard, and gave Danzo one last kick to the ribs. She gasped and jumped back in horror when her foot sank all the way through Danzo's body and out the other side. Within seconds, Danzo's entire body crumbled to dust.

"The bastard shed his skin! He's been working with Orochimaru all right," Jiraiya growled.

"Ibiki, get every Jonin and ANBU you can find and get after Danzo!" Tsunade ordered. "Check all the underground passages; don't let that worm get away!"

Ibiki nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, and Kyuubi alone with the still trapped Homura, Koharu, and Hiashi. Danzo's three accomplices were forgotten for a moment as Tsunade and Shizune reunited. Mentor and apprentice hugged and cried in each other's arms while Jiraiya clapped Naruto on the back.

"You've done one hell of a thing here today gaki," the Toad Sennin said. "Not only did you free Shizune, but you've freed Konoha from that war pig's hold. We've got a lot of work to do, Danzo and Orochimaru aren't going to take this lying down, but it's a start."

"Danzo and Orochimaru are the least of my worries," Naruto muttered and then looked up at Jiraiya. "That fight did you some good, Ero-Sennin, but you still look like shit. Let's go get some ramen, I'm buying."

"Sounds great gaki."

"You coming, Kyu-chan?" Naruto asked.

"What about these three?" Kyuubi asked. "We can't let them go and all the guards went after Danzo."

"I've got an idea," Naruto said. He walked over to the table and picked up the three sets of chakra suppression cuffs. He slapped one end of the cuffs to Homura, the next to Koharu, and so on until the three accomplices were handcuffed to each other in a tight circle so tight their cheeks pressed against each others' embarrassingly. The three slumped down onto the floor and didn't move, the chakra cuffs doing their job well.

"That ought to hold them, at least until Ibiki or Anko gets back," Naruto smiled. "Let's go already, I've been in Konoha for almost a whole day and still haven't been to Ichiraku's!"

"Alright Naruto-kun, let's go," Kyuubi said. "Are you coming, Tsunade-sama?"

"You three go on without us, Kyuubi-sama. Shizune and I have some catching up to do after I give Shizune a full physical."

"I told you last night, Kyuubi is just fine," Kyuubi smiled.

"Wait a minute!" Jiraiya interjected. "Tsunade, why did you call her Kyuubi-sama?"

"Kami, you're thick sometimes Jiraiya," Tsunade said with an eye roll.

"Huh?"

"I am the Kyuubi no Yoko in both name and title," Kyuubi said with a slight bow to Jiraiya. Jiraiya gawked at Kyuubi for a moment, soaking in this new information.

"Forgive me, Kyuubi-sama, I did not know," Jiraiya said and bowed.

"There is nothing to forgive, Jiraiya. You have caused no harm to me," Kyuubi answered with a smile.

"No, I mean, I'm sorry I didn't know how beautiful you are. If I did, I would have freed you years ago," Jiraiya said with his most charming smile.

"Six years in prison and still the biggest pervert in the world," Tsunade muttered, doing her best not to punch Jiraiya.

"Thank you Jiraiya," Kyuubi said, "but if you had, I would've killed Naruto-kun, eaten your flesh, raped and devoured your soul, and razed Konoha to the ground."

"Oh yeah, right," stammered Jiraiya, suddenly remembering that the gorgeous redhead in front of him was still a giant fox demon. "Good thing I didn't then, huh?"

"Baka," smirked Tsunade. "Oh and don't let think I haven't forgotten about you Naruto. I want to see you first thing tomorrow morning for a full report on where the hell you've been for the last six years and how you're going to make amends for causing all this trouble," Tsunade said as she left with Shizune.

"Cranky Baa-cha, like this was really my fault."

"Well, it all did start because you left," Jiraiya said. "Although, I'm sure Kyuubi could be blamed in the long run."

"Care to repeat that, Jiraiya-kun?" Kyuubi said sweetly. A little too sweetly for Jiraiya's liking.

"No—no it was definitely all Naruto's fault," Jiraiya stammered quickly.

Yeah right, let's get out of here before you do or say something stupid again Ero-Sennin. C'mon Kyu-chan."

The three walked out of the ANBU Interrogation building and into the village. It was a quick walk to the center of the village and the markets and shops were already doing business. But it seemed quieter than Naruto remembered, emptier.

"Where is everybody?" he wondered. "I remember this place being a lot livelier and bigger."

"You were a lot smaller when you left," Kyuubi teased.

Ha, ha. I'll just ask Ayame-chan, she'll tell me what's going on."

The group arrived at Ichiraku's and found it empty. No one was behind the counter or sitting down. Naruto shrugged, figuring it was still early and that the lunch crowd hadn't arrived yet. He sat down at what used to be his favorite stool and rapped his knuckles on the counter.

"Hello? Anybody here? Ayame-chan? Teuchi-san?"

"Who's there?" Ayame said as she walked out of the back room. "Can I help you?"

"C'mon Ayame-chan, I know it's been six years, but I can't believe you'd forget your best customer?"

"You're still wearing your mask, gaki," Jiraiya whispered and elbowed Naruto in the ribs.

"Oh right," Naruto realized and pulled down his mask. "How bout now Ayame-chan?"

"It can't be…Dad! Naruto's back!" Ayame cheered and reached over the counter to grab Naruto. She pulled him into a rib-crushing hug and yelled for her father again.

"Where is he?" Teuchi said as he rushed out of the back. "Where the hell is that gaki?"

"Be nice dad," Ayame said as she released Naruto. Naruto barely had time to catch his breath before Teuchi wrapped him up in another hug.

"How you doing kid?" he asked and shook Naruto from side to side. "What can I get for you? First bowls are on the house as a welcome home present!"

"You're the best Teuchi-san! I'll have ten bowls of miso," Naruto said happily.

"Three bowls of pork for me," Jiraiya said. "Gotta put some meat back on these old bones."

"Do you have any rabbit?" Kyuubi asked. Teuchi looked at her strangely before shaking his head. "I'll just have four beef ramen then."

"Coming right up!" Teuchi said and disappeared into the back. Soon the delicious smell of cooking ramen filled the shop. Naruto closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and leaned back in his stool.

"It's good to be home," he said and smiled.

* * *

**Author's Note**

I told you a lot happened in this chapter. Read it again in case you missed something. I'll wait.

I had a great time writing this chapter. It was hard deciding on how bad to make Konoha and what to do with Shizune. To all the big Shizune fans out there, I'm sorry I put her through all that hell, but it was the best way to make Danzo out to be a real villain and not just a power hungry ass. At least I didn't kill her and bring her back like in the manga.

The Kage Bushin idea hit me after I had written most of the chapter. I had to go back and change a lot of things because I constantly had Kyuubi smacking Naruto while she was playing Hunter-Nin and I had the ROOT guards kick him a few times too. This would have obviously popped the Kage Bushin and ruined the plan.

By the way, if you didn't notice what video game character I've modeled Kyuubi's human form off of, I highly suggest doing a Google search of Heavenly Sword/Nariko. Great game, great character, and a perfect fit for my human Kyuubi.

**NEXT CHAPTER**

Naruto's back! How will the other Rookie 9 react? How will the council react to the traitorous Danzo fleeing and Tsunade taking back control? What happened to Hinata that she wasn't at the council meeting with the other clan heirs?

Chapter 7: What can an Avatar do? Tests, trials, and Terror!

Don't forget to leave a review and TELL me what you like, don't like, suggestions, recommendations, new ideas, etc. I hate one sentence reviews, I took the time to write, please take the time to give me some real feedback.

Until next time,

N.W.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto: Rise of the Espers

Chapter 7

"Tests and Tricks"

**Konoha**

**Ichiraku's Ramen Stand**

Naruto finished his fifteenth bowl of ramen, leaven back in his stool, and let out a sigh of pure satisfaction. "Six years and it's still the best; makes those noodles we had in Figaro taste like they were made out of mud. Thanks a lot Ayame-chan, Teuchi-san!"

"You're very welcome Naruto-kun," Ayame smiled.

"We're just glad you're back home," Teuchi added from the back.

"Me too; I'd still be in prison if you hadn't come back," Jiraiya said and stood up. "But if you'll all please excuse me, I have some very important business to take care of."

"How can you have business?" Naruto asked. "You've only been out of jail for two hours."

"It's been six years since I've slept on anything remotely resembling a bed, gaki," Jiraiya explained. "Now that I've got some good food in my belly, I'm going to find the biggest, comfiest, and most luxurious bed in Konoha and then I'm going to find someone to share it with me."

Kyuubi let out a loud laugh. "That's the spirit!" she cackled, while Naruto rolled his eyes and Ayame blushed. "You may want to include your first shower in six years before you get ahead of yourself, Ero-Sennin. You're pretty ripe."

"A change of clothes would be a good idea as well," Ayame added. "Prison rags aren't in style this time of year."

"Aw, my dearest Ayame, not you too," Jiraiya mock-protested and pretended to swoon in heartbreak. He caught himself on the counter and comically gave the front of his ragged shirt a sniff. "Whew, I hate to say it, but I think you're right. Maybe a trip to the Hot Springs is what I really need."

"Just keep your eyes and the rest of you on the men's side, pervert," Naruto growled.

"No promises," Jiraiya said over his shoulder and walked away.

"Think we should warn Baa-chan that the great white pervert is on the loose again?" Naruto asked Kyuubi. The Biju shook her head, her blood red hair cascading down her shoulders.

"I think even a self-proclaimed "Super Pervert" deserves a free pass occasionally. Forget about him; you need to get up and show me more of this village. We need to find a place to stay still land the last time I was here, well, you don't get to see the sights when you're razing the place to the ground."

"Huh?" said Ayame. "What are you talking about?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, Ayame-chan," Naruto said quickly and shot a quick glare at Kyuubi. None the less, he stood up and pulled out his wallet. His old Gama-chan frog wallet was long gone; Ifrit thought it was too childish for a teenage boy, especially his Avatar, and promptly burned it down to a single ash. Naruto's new wallet was a bag made from Dragonhide and reached inside. A look of horror stretched across his face.

_Where'd all my money go? _he wondered and turned the bag inside out, spilling its contents on the counter. Fifty pieces of Gil—barely enough to buy a single Potion in Lindblum—clattered upon the counter, followed by ten Ryu and a piece of folded white paper.

"What the hell is this?" he asked and unfolded the piece of paper. It read:

_Gaki,_

_I have an airtight lead on a Chocobo at the Gold Saucer. My guy says he's never seen a Pink Chocobo move that fast; it even beat the famous Black Chocobo Teioh in an unofficial practice race! Unfortunately, I came up a little short so I borrowed some cash from you for funds. I'll split the winnings with you 75-25, cuz let's face it, I'm doing all the leg work here and you really need to learn that you have to pull your own weight in a financial enterprise like this. Besides, I'm never wrong when it comes to gambling and you could consider this a free lesson._

_Gilgamesh_

_Esper of the Four Winds, Master Swordsman, Interdimensional Playboy_

_PS: I owe the Tonberry King 100,000 Gil, so if you see any of those knife wielding little toads ask, you haven't seen or heard from me since we completed your training. They're so impatient when it comes to I.O.U.'s._

_G_

"That slimy, no good, cheap, double crossing, Ero-Esper!" Naruto shouted and slammed down the note. Kyuubi picked it up, read it, and laughed lightly.

"Should've seen that coming," she smirked. "Think he'll win?"

"It doesn't matter. If he wins, he'll just blow the cash on another race or on those games in Wonder Square. And it's not like I'll see a dime if he loses. Hell, he'll probably find some way to blame me for losing somehow; like my negative waves funked up his mojo or something."

**In Another Dimension-**

A figure dressed in red sat at a bar and sneezed. He looked up at the television screen and watched the large Chocobos racing on a winding track complete with constantly changing holograms. In the lead was a large black Chocobo; in last place was a slim pink.

"This has to be Naruto's fault," groaned Gilgamesh and tossed his betting ticket onto the ground. "Gaki's sending out those negative waves again."

**Back In Konoha-**

"Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked and gestured to the mess on the counter.

"Um, sort of," Naruto said sheepishly. "You see, one of my former senseis decided to "borrow" all my money without asking, or even telling me about it. You guys don't take Gil here, do you?"

"What's Gil?"

"That's what I thought you'd say," Naruto muttered with an exasperated high. "I'm really sorry, Ayame-chan, but I only have about ten Ryu. Do you think I could pay you back once Obaa-chan starts giving me missions again?"

Ayame smiled brightly. "Of course you can, Naruto-kun. I trust you and it'd just be mean if I made my favorite customer wash dishes all night on his first day back."

"Thanks Ayame-chan, I owe you one!"

"Shh! Will you keep it down? Dad will kill me if he found out. Now get out here and I'll see you later."

"Oh, sorry," whispered Naruto before he carefully stepped away from the counter and escaped down the street with Kyuubi. The pair ran down the street, startling shoppers, civilians, and shinobi alike. They ran nonstop until they reached the Shinobi Academy.

"Heh, place hasn't changed at all," Naruto said as he came to a stop and stared up at the building.

"Place needs some serious re-structuring," Kyuubi said. "I still can't believe how easy your graduation exam was."

"Hey! I failed that exam three times!"

"That's only because your chakra control was beyond terrible. But how could they possibly think that being able to do a Bushin, Kawarimi, and Henge qualifies a student to be a Shinobi? Only the kids that had extra training from their clans were even remotely close to a Genin level."

"Thanks a lot Kyu-chan; you're a real boost to my self-esteem."

"Face it gaki, until you learned Kage Bushin, you weren't much of a Shinobi, other than your ridiculous stamina and chakra stores, of course."

"I know, but it's not like I had a lot of help or teaching besides Iruka-sensei helping me when he could."

"No excuses," Kyuubi smiled. "Now, what's next on the Konoha Grand Tour?"

"Well, you've been to the Hokage Tower and Monument, and Ichiraku's was the most important place to go, so I guess we should—"

"NARUTO!"

"—get yelled at by a blonde banshee and the rest of my old teammates," Naruto finished sarcastically as the rest of the Rookie Eleven—minus Sasuke (of course), Sakura, and Hinata—ran towards him.

Ino led the way. She had grown much taller than Naruto remembered and had filled out. She was no longer too skinny from dieting constantly; her body was slender and toned with muscle. She wore a short purple skirt with a long slit in the front, exposing her shorts beneath, and a small purple top that exposed her midriff and arms.

Shikamaru had changed the least. He still wore his hair back like a pineapple and wore his Chunin vest over his normal clothes. A half burned cigarette, a bad habit picked up by his old Sensei, Asuma, hung loosely from his lips.

Choji had grown at least six inches, giving him a greater stature to go with his weight. His former fat rolls had been replaced by slabs of muscle. He wore his family's red plate armor across his chest and shoulders, his hair was tied down his back in great spikes. He still had a bag of potato chips in hand.

Neji had abandoned his large headpiece with ear flaps that Naruto remembered. He let his long hair fall down his face and covered his Cursed Bird Seal with his hitai-ite. He wore a white shirt with extra long sleeves that covered all but his fingertips and dark shinobi pants.

Tenten's hair remained in the "panda" buns Temari had teased her for at the Chunin Exams. She wore loose fitting red Shinobi pants that ended at her ankles and a white Chinese style top with red clasps and flowing sleeves. A massive scroll was tucked into a pouch behind her back.

Lee remained a tall and skinny individual, his great strength and speed hidden beneath his slight frame. He still wore the orange leg warmers and green spandex clothing that made Naruto slightly uncomfortable to look at him, but at least he wore a shinobi vest over top of it now.

Looking at Kiba, Naruto decided that the Inuzuka must have been trying for the bad boy look and failed. He was dressed in black pants and a black leather jacket with too many zippers on it. He stood with his hands in his pockets, trying too hard to look like he really didn't care what was going on. Akumaru no longer rode on top of the boy's head; the dog was easily the size of a large wolf now, but remained the sweet puppy that Naruto remembered.

Shino was covered from head to toe in a large, hooded grey jacket with sleeves that covered his hands. He stood in the back with his arms crossed over his chest and nodded to Naruto from behind his dark sunglasses.

"Uh, hey guys," Naruto smiled as the group skidded to a halt.

"Hey guys? That's all you've got to say after six years? I can't believe it, you're still the biggest baka!" Ino yelled. Her voice reached ear-splitting levels until a giant hand covered and wrapped around her entire head, muffling the noise.

"Thanks Choji," Naruto smiled.

"Don't thank me yet," Choji winced as Ino bit down on the tender inside of one of his oversized fingers. "She hates it when I do this. You ready yet, Shikamaru?"

"This is such a troublesome pain in the ass," Shikamaru groaned, but he quickly flashed through a series of hand seals. Shikamaru's shadow lengthened and climbed up Ino's legs and in between Choji's fingers. A second later, Ino stopped struggling. Choji slowly let go and his hand returned to its normal size. Ino's mouth was covered with a hand made from shadow connected to Shikamaru's. She glared daggers at Shikamaru and Choji; Choji flinched slightly, but the lazy Nara just shrugged in response.

"That's a nice trick," Kyuubi complimented. She shook her head slightly; Ino's piercing shriek was painful to her sensitive senses.

"We came up with that a few years ago," Shikamaru explained, "sometimes have to hold her for a while. It's troublesome, but increases my chakra stores."

"Same ol' Shikamaru," chuckled Naruto.

"Not all of us can disappear for six years and suddenly return with new clothes, new weapons, and a pretty but probably troublesome woman with him," Shikamaru smirked back. "Not to mention getting arrested and ordered for execution within minutes of your return. So, as Ino was going to eventually ask: what the hell is going on?"

"Aren't you going to let her go?"

"Not yet."

"Shouldn't we get Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan first? They will want to hear this too."

"Sakura-san has duty at the hospital and Hinata is none of your concern. Just begin your explanation, Genin," Neji scowled at Naruto. Naruto answered his glare with one of his own, a fiery stare imitated from Ifrit, but ruined it by smiling.

"Alright, but you guys might as well get comfortable; even the short version takes awhile to tell."

**-X-**

The young shinobi listened quietly as Naruto and Kyuubi summarized their last six years. Naruto was careful not to mention any detail about The Nether, his Esper Senseis, and the other worlds he had visited; he never even mentioned anyone's powers or anything that had to do with his training—beyond saying that he spent the majority of the time training under different masters. Kyuubi kept up her act as Asher Nariko, Hunter-Nin for Hire, the entire time, using the story of meeting up with Naruto on the road and helping him train and get back to the village.

"And then my Kage Bushin popped and we got the drop on Danzo-teme and the others," Naruto concluded.

The other Rookies stood stumped for a moment, slowly working Naruto's story over in their minds.

"That was, without a doubt, the most ass-backwards plan I have ever heard," Tenten finally said, "and I work with Lee!"

"Hey! My plans are all well thought out and completely youthful in design."

"Name one that worked," Neji deadpanned.

"There was that time…"

"That didn't involve you consuming alcoholic Bonbons and using crazy purple-baboon Taijutsu while only wearing a pair of frilly pink underwear," Tenten added. Lee thought for a second, opened his mouth in protest, closed it, and hung his head in shame. Naruto and Kyuubi looked at Choji and Shikamaru, who both said: "Don't ask."

"Anyway, scary mental images aside, it's good to have you home, Naruto," Ino said (Shikamaru ran out of chakra and released her halfway through Naruto's story; she bopped Shikamaru on the head hard, but didn't interrupt Naruto). "So, what's up with the Kyuubi No Yoko?"

"Huh, what do you mean?" Naruto stammered nervously.

"Most of us were at the Council meeting and have at least an idea, so tell us what's going on."

"Um, what's going on…um…is that a new top, Ino? The purple really brings out the color of your hair."

"Thank you," Ino blushed. "Now quit stalling and spill!"

"Kuso, alright!" You guys all remember how I died and Kyuubi-chan brought me back, right?"

"Wait, Kyuubi is a girl?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, didn't someone say that earlier? Anyway, after I came back and left on my training trip, I found out that she had forced to attack Konoha, she was being controlled. So, Kyuubi-chan and I came to an agreement: she helps me train and, after everything is finished, I'll set her free. In the meantime, she's enjoying at least some partial freedom from the seal, though her soul and most of her power is still bound and imprisoned by it."

The Rookies stared at Naruto, their jaws slack in shock, disbelief, and sheer terror. "You can't do that!" shrieked Ino. Her voice returned to banshee-like heights as her father's concerns and fears suddenly became her own. "She's a monster, a demon! She'll destroy everything!"

Naruto flinched slightly and gave Kyuubi a quick glance; she'd stiffened from Ino's insults and allegations. Her own guilt about being controlled by Uchiha Madara's Sharingan and for the burden placed on Naruto because of it was written all over her face. Naruto took a cautious step towards Kyuubi so half his body was between the fox and the others, just in case.

"She isn't like that, Ino," Naruto growled at the blonde. "What happened wasn't her fault; it would be the same as if someone from your clan mind-swapped with someone else and made them commit horrible murders. She wasn't in control of her actions and suffered unspeakable darkness because of it. And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't insult those dear to me."

"But Naruto, you of all people should and deserve to hate—" Kiba stared to say.

"Hate what?" Naruto interrupted, baring his teeth at the Inuzuka in a snarl. "Hate Kyuubi-chan for being controlled and forced to attack Konoha? Hate the Yondaime for sealing her into me and basically saving everyone in the village's life, including all of yours? That would be easiest, wouldn't it? But I can't. I can't hate Kyu-chan or the Yondaime—well, at least I stopped hating that S.O.B. a while ago. Everyone's choices were taken away: Kyu-chan was being controlled, the Yondaime had to do what he did to save the village, and I never had a choice at all. We have to deal with the cards we're dealt in life and make the best of them."

"Fate decreed your life to be such and nothing will change that," Neji said seriously. "You will always suffer such tragedies because that is your Fate."

Naruto looked at Neji with a cold stare. "I thought I beat the giant Fate stick that was stuck up your ass out of you back at the Chunin Exams."

Neji's Byakugan flared and he stepped into Naruto's personal space. "You have a big mouth, Genin. You should be more cautious when using it towards your betters."

"When I find someone better, I just might do that," Naruto replied, refusing to back down from Neji's Byakugan; Ifrit-sensei had been much scarier when had been angry and his glare could literally set things on fire.

"I'll be sure to say hello to Hinata for you," Neji smirked before walking away.

"Where does that jerk get off talking to me like that?" Naruto asked the others after Neji was gone.

"Neji's been kinda full of himself ever since he made Jonin," Tenten explained.

"Neji's a Jonin!"

"Yeah, he got promoted about a year ago."

"Figures, especially with Hiashi's dealings with Danzo and the council," Kyuubi muttered under her breath. Meanwhile, Naruto was in a daze.

"I can't believe Neji made Jonin. Who else got promoted since I've been gone?"

"Well, we all made Chunin about four years ago," Ino said happily, "but Lee, Sakura, and Shino made Tokubetsu Jonin too."

"Tokubetsu Jonin…" Naruto paled.

"That's right," Lee said with a bright "Nice Guy" smile. "My Taijutsu is second only to Gai-sensei's and my weapon skills have vastly improved as well."

"Still not as good as me," Tenten added with a proud grin.

"My clan techniques have become very useful in personnel retrieval and interrogation," Shino said, speaking for the first time.

"And Sakura has been Tsunade-sama's apprentice ever since you disappeared," Ino said. They say she's almost like a Tsunade clone in medical skill and super strength!"

"Looks too," Kiba added before Ino and Tenten punched him out for being a pervert.

"So I'm the only Genin left, huh?" Naruto asked sadly.

"Nah, Hinata still is," Kiba said loudly as he picked himself up. "She's barely a shinobi at all anymore."

"Shut up, dog breath!" Ino roared and punched him again. "We aren't supposed to talk about that!"

"Talk about what?" Naruto asked. "Did something happen to Hinata? Is that what Neji-teme was talking about?" His eyes narrowed and flashed briefly to crimson as he remember the letters he found in Danzo's office about the Hyuuga's. The smallest amount guys of killing intent swelled off his body, but even that was enough to scare Ino and the others. "What happened to Hinata?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, but when she heard you were back, Hinata came to us and made us swear not to tell you anything. You'll have to talk to her tomorrow."

Naruto stared into Ino's eyes, but quickly saw she was telling the truth. He quickly looked at the others and saw the same. "Fine," he said, "but if I don't get to see her after my exams tomorrow, I'm coming looking for you guys. C'mon, Kyu-chan, it's getting late."

And with a nod to the group, Naruto vanished in a burst of sharp wind. Kyuubi gave the group a shrugging smile, showing just a fraction of fang, before disappearing in her own shunshin of bright flame. The remaining Rookies stood still for a moment, mixed with their guilt over Hinata and the shock of Naruto's reaction and sudden departure.

"He called her Kyu-chan, didn't he? I thought her name was Nariko," Ino said, breaking the silence as usual. "You don't think she was…"

"Yep," said Shikamaru.

"I believe so."

"Without a doubt."

"But the seal…" Ino protested.

"Naruto mentioned the Kyuubi No Yoko receiving partial freedom," Shino said.

"Yep."

"Most youthfully he did."

"_Munch_, yeah, _munch_."

"And I called her a… I am so dead," trembled Ino.

"Pretty much."

"You're boned."

"Doomed."

"DOOOOOOOOOMMMMMED!" howled Kiba.

**-X-**

**The Next Morning-**

Naruto stood in the same ring he fought Kiba in during the Chunin Exam Preliminaries, dressed in his armor, mask, and cloak. The ring had long been restored since Naruto had last been there and the golden statue of the Ram Seal liked pristine as ever. For the moment, Naruto was alone in the ring, save for the referee in the ANBU uniform and Neko mask.

Tsunade, Shizune (Tsunade wanted Shizune to remain in bed, but she refused to miss Naruto's tests), and Kyuubi stood in the Hokage's box while the Rookies, their Jonin senseis—minus the ever tardy Kakashi—, and several Chunin and Jonin not on duty waited in the catwalks. After looking around to make sure everyone who needed to be was present, Tsunade stepped forward.

"We're here to test Uzumaki Naruto's skills on return of his six year training trip. Myself, Shizune, and all Jonin sensei present shall be the judges and shall decide Naruto's rank if need be. This exam falls under the same rules as the Chunin Exams, save for two things: combatants may only use techniques that fall within that test's structure—Taijutsu and Taijutsu related jutsu only for Taijutsu test, Ninjutsu and Ninjutsu related Taijutsu for the Ninjutsu test, etc—and no killing will be permitted! We are all Konoha shinobi here and will act accordingly."

"Yeah, yeah, let's get to it already Baa-chan," Naruto called up to the box. "I don't have all day. Who's first: Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, or Gai-sensei?"

"You think you're going to fight elite Jonin?" Tsunade laughed. "Oh, don't we think very highly of yourself? I don't care what kind of training you did over the last six years, you're not up to be evaluated against Jonin. Your opponents will be much more familiar."

"So, I'm fighting Chunin then? Then bring 'em on already!" Naruto yelled. "I'll show you just how good I've gotten!"

"Then we'll start with Kenjutsu and Weapons," Tsunade said and nodded to the catwalk. Naruto watched as Tenten stepped through the crowd and leapt down to the arena floor.

"I should have guessed I'd have to fight you," Naruto smirked at Tenten. "You are Konoha's Weapon Mistress after all. Shame I can't use any of my Futon jutsu like Temari did."

Tenten grit her teeth; the memory of her embarrassing defeat at the fan of the Suna kunoichi was still a sore subject for her. "You'll pay for that Naruto," she growled and twirled a kunai around her finger.

"Whatever you say Ten-chan," Naruto smirked again and drew his Mage Mashers. "Whenever you're ready, Referee-san."

The Neko ANBU stepped forward and looked at both opponents. "This is a Kenjutsu and weapons match only. Remember what Hokage-sama said: no lethal techniques. HAJIME!"

Tenten sprang at Naruto with her Kunai, looking to end the match quickly. She swiped at Naruto's chest, but the blonde deflected the blow with one dagger and swung a counter at her head with his opposite hand. Tenten leapt back to avoid the counter and glared at Naruto.

A single bun of hair slowly drifted to the floor between them. A hush fell over the audience as they watched Tenten carefully touch her cut hair, her eyes never leaving Naruto's.

"You're dead!" she yelled and sliced through her remaining bun with her kunai before throwing it at Naruto. Naruto twisted out of the way, taking his eyes off the enraged kunoichi for just a second.

"Sōshōryū!" Tenten screamed as she unfurled her two trademark scrolls. Hundreds of kunai, shuriken, ninjatos, katanas, maces, and even arrows unsealed and shot at Naruto. Naruto leapt out of the way, but Tenten curved the weapons to follow, chakra wires attached to her fingers.

_OK, so maybe I shouldn't have cut her hair,_ Naruto thought as he dodged another wave of weapons. _I thought Tenten didn't care about that girly stuff._

_You'll never understand women, gaki,_ Kyuubi said through their mental link. Hearing her voice in his head unexpectedly startled Naruto and he skidded to a halt.

_Ah! Don't do that, Kyu-chan! You know I hate it when you chime in on my personal thoughts,_ he hissed back.

_But it's so much fun Naruto-kun; especially all those perverted thoughts you think you're keeping to yourself._

Naruto turned bright red and glared up at the Hokage Box. Kyuubi just smiled at him and pointed to his right. Naruto suddenly remembered where he was and what he was doing. He dropped flat against the floor, just as a horde of Tenten's weapons shot past!

"You did that on purpose!" Naruto shouted as he stood.

"Of course I did," Tenten answered. "I'm going to hack at your head and see how you like it!"

"I wasn't talking to…oh, never mind!" Naruto yelled and slammed his two Mage Mashers together. The handles fused and lengthened while the blades grew large and more jagged. Naruto spun the Ogre over his head and crouched down into a new stance. He held the Ogre with one hand behind him, his other hand remained out in front of him, and all his weight was balanced on the balls of his feet. "No more running."

Tenten stared at the polearm with wide eyes; she had never seen a weapon transform like that. She had heard tales, legends, of weapons that could do magnificent things, but never thought Naruto of all people would wield one. Shaking off her admiration, Tenten's fingertips danced in the air, commanding her weapons to surround Naruto. With a single gesture, all of Tenten's weapons darted towards Naruto from every angle!

Naruto swung the Ogre forward and spun the polearm in a rapid circle. The weapons and Naruto became a blur of movement; for a moment, only the sound of clanging metal could be heard. Naruto finally stopped spinning and hundreds of weapons clattered onto the ground.

_Heh, no problem,_ thought Tenten and she twitched her left pinkie, commanding a katana to rise up and strike Naruto from behind. But nothing happened. Tenten quickly tried her other fingers, but not one of her weapons would respond.

_He cut the chakra wires!_ Tenten realized. _I never even felt the cuts!_

"You'll have to do better than that, Ten-chan," Naruto called from across the ring. "I saw these attacks before; don't you have anything new to try?"

"Oh, I'll show you something no one's ever seen before," Tenten smiled back dangerously. She unbuttoned her shirt and set the garment down gently. Clad in only a small black tank top, Tenten pulled out a kunai and pricked the tip of her finger. She dripped a single drop onto the inside of her shirt and an intricate black seal appeared. She dropped another drop onto the seal and the handle of a sword appeared inside the seal.

Tenten reached down, grasped the handle of the sword, and pulled it out of the seal. The sword was long enough to wield with two hands, but light enough for one. Its intricately crafted hilt was made out of gold and spotted with emeralds and rubies. The blade was slender and straight with a razor edge on both sides. The end was flat, not pointed like a normal sword, and appeared razor sharp as well. Tenten whirled the sword above her head before assuming a graceful fighting stance in front of Naruto.

"That's an interesting sword," Naruto admitted. "I've never seen a triple edged blade before."

"No one ever has. Murasaki was left to me by my parents; it's the only thing I have from them after the Kyuubi attacked and destroyed everything else," Tenten said with a fierce glare towards the Hokage Box. Kyuubi felt a pang of guilt in her chest, but quickly buried the emotion as Naruto unlocked the Ogre and sheathed the two Mage Masher daggers.

"Since you've shown me such respect, allow me to do the same," Naruto smiled and reached for the sword across his back. He removed the sheathed sword and held it in front of him. "Whisper, Chirijiraden."

White light shined off the Chirijiraden's blade, the magicite in the steel shimmered in the light. The light traveled down the blade from its curved tip and up Naruto's arm. Naruto took a deep breath as Chirijiraden's familiar power flowed into him.

Across the ring, Tenten stared at the blade with stars in her eyes. She had never seen a more beautiful instrument of death. She was mesmerized by the sword's shimmering and wanted to touch it more than anything in the world.

"Your sword…it's beautiful," she managed to whisper through her adoration.

"Thank you, perhaps later Chirijiraden will allow you to make a closer inspection. But for now, we have a match to finish," Naruto smiled and slipped into his stance.

"Let's!" Tenten grinned. The two leapt forward and flashed past each other, their respective swords ringing as they past. Three times they darted at each other, attacking and parrying simultaneously, until they stopped and stared across the ring at each other. Tenten panted heavily, her body sweaty and exhausted; no one had ever matched her in Kenjutsu for so long before. She was dirty and her tank top had a small rip across her belly.

Naruto looked as pristine as ever. His clothes were untouched and he wasn't breathing hard at all. Tenten growled in frustration.

"No one has ever matched me in Kenjutsu like this Naruto. But, as much fun as its been, this match is over!"

Tenten leapt high into the air and pointed her sword down at Naruto. "Ikorose, Murasaki!" The sword glowed with deep purple chakra. The chakra continued to rise as Tenten hung in midair. Naruto held Chirijiraden in front of him, never taking his eyes off the glowing sword above. With a heavy burst of purple chakra, Tenten's sword shot forward, its blade lengthening as fast as lightning. Naruto dodged to the side and raised his sword to counterattack, but Tenten suddenly vanished! Naruto searched the air and walls of the arena, but couldn't see any trace of the kunoichi.

_Where'd you go? _he wondered and searched for a trace of Tenten. But even her chakra had vanished!

"Ok, this is different," Naruto muttered and slowly took a step backward. Suddenly, a pulse of chakra flooded his senses and he spun, just in time to deflect Tenten's sword as it shot at him from ground level. The glowing blade rocketed past Naruto and stabbed into the wall beyond.

"Your technique is good, very good," Naruto smiled at Tenten as her swords glow faded and shrunk back to its original length, "but there is no style in all the Elemental Countries stronger than the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū. Let me show you—Octaslash!"

Naruto turned his blade over, leapt forward in a blur of speed, and slash at Tenten eight times with the dull side of Chirijiraden, each so fast they seemed to strike at the exact same time. Tenten had no chance to defend and let out a cry of pain as all eight strikes fell. She fell through the air and crashed onto the ground, unconscious.

"Tenten is no longer able to continue. Winner by knockout: Naruto," Neko announced. Immediately, a field medic rushed to Tenten's side and quickly examined her. Her arms, chest, sides, legs, and somehow her back were all covered in deep bruises from Naruto's attack.

"She'll be sore for a few days, but the dem—Naruto did no lasting damage," the medic reported and used a healing jutsu over Tenten's body. The bruises faded and Tenten breathed easier as she was carried off on a stretcher.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted and ran towards the stretcher. He bent and scooped Murasaki off the ground. He gently laid the unique sword on the stretcher beside Tenten and smiled as her slender hand unconsciously wrapped around the handle. Naruto nodded to the stretcher bearers and returned to the ring.

"What do you have next, Baa-chan?" he called up.

"Taijutsu," Tsunade smirked.

_Wait a minute! She isn't going to make me fight Bushy-Brows, is she? _Naruto thought in a panic. _I don't know if I can take that kind of punishment, _Naruto worried._  
_

_From what I saw in your memories, you'd need a full transformation to go toe-to-toe with Lee in a taijutsu only match, _Kyuubi echoed in Naruto's thoughts. _And that's only if he hasn't improved on opening his gates._

Naruto waited for a moment in suspenseful agony until Choji, not Lee, stepped off the catwalk and towards the ring. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"How's it going, muscle man?" he asked, using Choji's nickname from their Academy days.

"Same old, same old," Choji smiled in between bites of spare rib. He finished the last bite off the bone and casually tossed it back toward the catwalk. Akumaru caught it in a flash.

"I have to admit, I was expecting to have to fight Bushy-Brows," Naruto admitted to Choji.

"HA!" the big-boned teen barked. "Even if you trained in nothing but taijutsu for the last six years, Lee would still damn near kill you!"

"Yosh! I would do no such thing!" Lee shouted from the catwalk. "I would fight an honorable match!"

"Honorable or not, you'd still destroy the arena again," Shikamaru pointed out lazily.

Meanwhile, back in the ring, Naruto removed his sword and daggers. He tossed them upwards towards the Hokage Box. Kyuubi caught them both easily.

"As it is, I still don't like your chances," Choji stated and stretched his arms and legs. "I've been trained in my family's arts since you've left. There is no technique that I haven't mastered."

"Taijutsu: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Akimichi Choji. HAJIME!" Neko yelled.

Choji immediately lunged at Naruto, looking to use his superior size and strength. He grabbed hold of Naruto's cloak and pulled him close. Naruto slammed his fists down on Choji's wrists to break the hold. Choji countered with a powerful palm thrust and caught Naruto in the chest. The blow sent Naruto skidding backwards. Choji shook his hand to remove the sting.

_Feels like I just hit a piece of solid rock! What's Naruto wearing under that cloak of his, armor? _he wondered.

"Wow, Choji," Naruto smiled as he dusted himself off. "You've gotten a lot stronger in six years."

"What did you expect, that'd I sit around and eat potato chips all day while Shikamaru napped and Ino screamed at us?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Choji's face flushed red at Naruto's remark. "I don't care what kind of armor you're wearing; you're gonna pay for that! Bubun Baika no Jutsu!"

Choji's hands and arms suddenly tripled in size and mass. He reached back and shot his right fist at Naruto, the arm stretching as it covered the distance between them. Naruto dodged to the left, only to see Choji's left fist hooking in to counter. Naruto twisted, but Choji's giant fist seemed to be everywhere and clipped his side. The glancing blow was still enough to knock Naruto onto the ground.

Choji pressed his advantage and raised his right hand high into the air. His palm thinned and flattened out like an enormous paddle. He slammed it down onto Naruto, covering half the ring. The spectators in the catwalks and Hokage Box winced at the impact and the cloud of dust that rose into the air. Choji shrank his hand back down to normal size and put his fists confidently on his hips.

As the dust cloud settled, Naruto laid face down in the center of the hand-shaped crater. His body was covered in dust and bits of rubble, but he wasn't moving at all.

"Way to go, Choji!" Ino yelled from the catwalk. "You were supposed to test him, not squash him like a bug!

Behind her, Shino's hive buzzed angrily at the reference.

"I—I didn't mean to kill him, Hokage-sama. Honestly," Choji stammered towards the Hokage Box.

"I wouldn't apologize to Baa-Chan yet, Choji," Naruto said as he slowly picked himself up and brushed the rubble off his cloak. "That may have knocked the wind out of me for a second, but I'm far from being done!"

Choji let out a sigh of relief and resumed his fighting stance. "I should have known that wouldn't be enough to beat you. It's a good thing I had an extra big breakfast this morning."

_Choji's almost as strong as I am without transforming: matching him blow for blow is just gonna drag this out and get one of us hurt._ Naruto thought and cracked his neck from side to side. _Any ideas Kyu-chan?_

_Why are you asking me? This is supposed to be your test, not mine, _Kyuubi projected back. Naruto snuck a quick glace towards the box and saw said fox with a proud smirk on her face.

_Fine, be like that! _Naruto shot back with the image of a chibi version of himself sticking his tongue out at the biju. _OK, matching Choji's strength is going to get us both hurt, so I guess I'll just have to turn it against him!_

"One second, muscle man. Change of tactics," Naruto said and took off his cloak and hood. He slid off his gi top and the mesh armor beneath it and, finally, removed his Dragon hide greaves, sandals, and gloves as well. Barefoot, empty handed, and bare chested, Naruto slipped into a new fighting stance.

Naruto stood with his feet together and hands at his side. He took a deep breath, raising his arms in a wide circle, expanding his chest, back, and abdominal muscles in the process. As he brought his arms down, his left foot slid outward and backward. Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet and held his hands loosely in front of him, leading with his right, his thumbs and pinky fingers held out like a 'Y' while his middle three fingers curled in a loose fist.

Up in the catwalk, the females felt a rush of heat flush their cheeks at the sight of Naruto's defined body. Even in the Hokage Box, Tsunade, Shizune, and Kyuubi were not immune from the sight.

"Round two," Naruto grinned and beckoned for Choji to begin. The Akimichi heir returned the grin and ran at Naruto.

"Bubun Baika No Jutsu!" Choji roared and his arms grew in size again. He threw a gigantic fist at Naruto, but Naruto slipped the blow and countered with a single strike to Choji's shoulder. Choji grunted in pain as his entire arm went completely numb.

"What the hell was that?" Choji yelled as he struggled to lift his arm. "How did you learn Juken?"

"It's not Juken; I can't see chakra points. But Shiva-hime did teach me her Taijutsu style and how to freeze all the nerve clusters on the body. No force on the planet can move that arm for the next hour," Naruto grinned.

"Nice trick," Choji seethed, "but I have a few more too. Baika no Jutsu!" Choji's entire body swelled and grew into a gigantic human ball. "Nikudan Sensha!" Choji yelled and rolled toward Naruto at high speed.

Naruto leapt over Choji and kicked out with his right leg, adding to the human ball's momentum. Choji barreled past, but quickly turned around for another run at Naruto. Naruto ran to meet him and jumped over Choji again. Instead of kicking Choji, Naruto landed on top of the rotating ball of an Akimichi and ran in place to keep his balance. It was a hysterical sight, Naruto riding on top of the famous Nikudan Sensha, and the crowd of spectators and Shinobi roared in laughter.

Choji was the only person that didn't find it funny. He spun harder and faster to buck Naruto off. He raced toward the wall and braked suddenly, but Naruto managed to stay on. Choji finally ground his own body against one of the ring walls and knocked Naruto off his back. Naruto sailed through the air for a moment, flipped, and landed on his feet. He resumed his stance and watched as Choji stopped spinning and shrunk back to normal.

"Finally, I was waiting for you to wear yourself out," Naruto called out. "The Nikudan Sensha is a great assault attack, but I figured all that spinning had to be brutal on your senses after a little while."

"You got that right," Choji stammered. He stumbled forward like a drunk, tripping over his own feet as he tried to regain his equilibrium. "I can still beat you though!"

"Sorry, muscle man, but you're all finished. Blitz!"

Naruto dashed forward, slipped under Choji's off balance punch, and slammed his palm into Choji's belly. Spittle dripped from Choji's mouth as the air rushed from his lungs. Naruto's hands and legs became a blur as he struck Choji in a machine-gun like burst, hitting every nerve cluster on the Akimichi's body, arms, and legs. Naruto finished the assault with a straight punch to Choji's solar plexus, knocking the boy head over heels onto the ground.

Naruto stood over Choji, his fist still shaking from the last blow. Slowly, Naruto relaxed and smiled.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" the referee announced.

The medics ran out and quickly attending Choji, releasing his frozen nerves. They helped the Akimichi heir to his feet, carefully as Choji was still slightly disoriented, and helped him back towards the catwalks.

"You ok?" Naruto asked as they walked past.

"Soon as I get some BBQ chips," Choji grinned and gave Naruto a shaky thumbs-up. Naruto patted his friend on the back before walking back to the center of the ring.

"How about Ninjutsu next, Baa-chan? I'm all warmed up now," Naruto called up to the Hokage Box.

"I wouldn't get too cocky, Naruto," Tsunade warned. "The tests are just going to get harder from here on out."

"Are you kidding? Ninjutsu was always my strongest field; there's no way anyone can beat me in that now!"

"Wanna bet?" snarled Kiba as he leapt down from the catwalk, Akumaru at his side. The pair landed on all fours, their fangs bared.

"So it's a rematch, huh?" Naruto smirked as he put his cloak and armor back on.

"We've been waiting for this for a long time," Kiba smiled. "Now I can finally prove that your win in the Exams was nothing but a pathetic fluke."

Naruto laughed. "You know what Kiba, you're right. What happened last time was a fluke—"

"HA! I knew it!"

"I'll beat you both much easier this time," Naruto concluded. Kiba's and Akumaru's hair stood on end and their teeth flashed in anger. Kiba's claws lengthened and Akumaru's fur slowly turned from white, to pink, and to blood red.

"Ninjutsu match: Uzumaki Naruto VS. Inuzuka Kiba. HAJIME!" the Neko referee shouted and leapt out of the way as Kiba flashed through hand seals.

"Juujin Bushin!" Kiba shouted and Akumaru transformed into a perfect copy of Kiba.

"Shikyaku No Jutsu!" Kiba and Akumaru's bodies grew in size as feral muscle sprouted, their nails grew into curved claws, their teeth fangs, and their hair grew coarse and longer like fur. The pair crouched on all fours like an animal and flexed their clawed fingers.

"Huh? This is pretty familiar," Naruto smirked with his arms folded across his chest. "Guess I should even the odds: Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" A perfect doppelganger of Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke beside him.

"Don't count on it Naruto," Kiba sneered. "Haven't you figured it out yet; a lot's changed in six years. Katon: Gatsuuga!"

Fire burst around Kiba and Akumaru's body, simmering with heat, but not burning them. Kiba and Akumaru ran at Naruto and leapt into a ferocious spin, fire twisting around them in curved columns. Naruto and his Kage Bushin jumped away, feeling the heat from the frothy flames as Kiba and Akumaru darted past. Before Naruto could counterattack, the Inuzuka pair had already come around for another pass. Kiba and Akumaru sped around Naruto and his clone, creating a fiery sphere around them. The heat increased until it became hard to breath. Naruto pulled up his mask up to help him breath.

_I guess old dogs can learn new tricks, _Naruto thought as he dodged another pass. _Adding fire to this really makes it better; I definitely picked the wrong day not to wear my Fire Ring. I can't jump out of this dome without getting torched and it's only a matter of time before one of them gets lucky and clips me or my clone._

A loud pop confirmed the lucky shot as his Kage Bushin dispelled. Naruto shook his head and took one last deep breath before crouching down. Naruto's hands clenched into tight fists as magical energy swelled around his body.

"Quake!" Naruto shouted and slammed his right foot down. The ground buckled and a wave of broken earth spread out in all directions. The wave was too fast and tripped both Kiba and Akumaru. The two partners careened out of control and crashed into the floor, the fires dissipating.

"You're right Kiba," Naruto said as he walked towards the downed pair. "A lot has changed in six years. For example, do you know that magic exists?"

"So you learned a Doton jutsu? No big deal. Me and Akumaru can still light you up!" Kiba boasted. "Jinjuu Konbi Henge: Sotoro!"

A cloud of smoke burst around Kiba and Akumaru and a massive, two-headed wolf took their place. The beast stared down at Naruto with two sets of beady red eyes and fang filled mouths. The left wolf head growled savagely at Naruto while the right let out a blood-curdling howl!

"Well that's different," whispered Naruto, slightly impressed by the Inuzukas' transformation. "Wanna doggy treat?"

"Real cute, Naruto," the wolf snarled at Naruto. "Katon: Garoga!"

The wolf leapt into a massive spiraling inferno and charged at Naruto, faster than before. Naruto rolled to the left, just barely dodging the flaming drill-like attack. The wolf screeched to a halt and a strange looking smirk crossed its lupine features. Naruto glared back before looking at the healing burns and scratches on his arm.

"Like that? The Garoga is so fast that even if we miss you directly, the hot air will still cut and burn you," the wolf taunted. Naruto brushed a fleck of ash off his arm and resumed his stance.

_Trying to match Kiba head on against that attack won't work, _Naruto thought, _that fire drill will just plow through another jutsu or even magic. I'll have to hit him another way…_

Naruto smirked with an idea and channeled just the slightest bit of wind chakra into his hands.

"This time, we won't miss!" the wolf howled and spun into another fiery Garoga! Naruto stood still and waited until he could feel the heat and stink of the twin heads' breath.

"Aero!" Naruto shouted and shoved his hands at the spiraling wolf. A coil of concentrated wind sprang up beneath the charging wolf and shot it skyward. The wolf crashed into the ceiling and plummeted back to the ground. It landed hard and the transformation broke, reveling an unconscious Kiba and Akumaru at the bottom of a crater.

"Winner by knockout: Uzumaki Naruto!" Neko announced. Up in the Hokage Box and catwalks, the spectators, minus Kyuubi, were all shocked that an apparent Futon technique beat a Katon technique.

Naruto walked down to the small crater and gently helped the groggy Kiba to his feet. "How's the headache?"

"Ugh, what the hell did you hit me with?"

"Just a small, localized tornado, no big deal," replied Naruto. "That Garoga is pretty impressive frontal assault; would have drilled straight through most of my attacks. Had to hit you indirectly. But, hey, at least I didn't fart on you this time."

"You're just lucky Akumaru and I trained our tails off on Garoga. Used to spin too fast to track a target visually. Akumaru used to have to mark the target with urine so we could track it by scent."

"Thank Kami for small favors," Naruto muttered as the medical-nins walked Kiba out of the ring. His older sister, Hana, appeared with her trio of dogs and, together, helped Akumaru away too.

"Three down, one to go, Baa-chan. Who do you have for Genjutsu?"

"Why don't you take a rest first?" Tsunade asked. "You've fought three times already and you're going to need a lot of energy for your next opponent."

"I've barely broken a sweat," Naruto laughed. "Although I am starting to get hungry. Let's get this started; who is my last opponent?"

"I am," Sakura said as she walked out from behind the others on the catwalk. She shunshined to the ring floor in a shower of pink flower petals, scowl on her face.

**-X-**

_**Six Years ago-Four Days After Naruto's Disappearance…**_

_Sakura sat in a chair just outside the Hokage's Office. She fidgeted in the chair and tried to press out an imaginary wrinkle on her skirt. She was wearing her nicest skirt and top, her hair tied up in an elegant bun._

"_Becoming the Hokage's apprentice is a spectacular honor," Sakura's mother said that morning as Sakura got ready. "Don't you dare be late. Make sure your dressed nicely. Always address the Hokage as Tsunade-sama. Do everything the Hokage asks of you; but don't let her take advantage of you. If she ever gets out of line or treats you like her personal servant, you just tell me and I'll make sure the council straightens her out."_

_The Hokage's new receptionist—Sakura wondered where Shizune was—called Sakura's name and told her that the Hokage would see her now. Sakura stood, brushed out the nonexistent wrinkles on her skirt, and walked into the Hokage's office. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk. A mountain of paperwork had been pushed to one side of the desk, the rest was occupied by empty sake bottles, a half drank bottle, Sakura's Shinobi file, and Naruto's file._

"_Good morning, Tsuande-sama. Haruno Sakura reporting for apprenticeship," Sakura said with a smile. When Tsunade didn't look up from the files, Sakura cleared her throat and repeated herself. When Tsunade ignored her again, a small vein in Sakura's forehead began to pulse. When Tsunade ignored her for a third time, the vein grew in size and threatened to burst as Sakura tried to control her temper. Meanwhile, Tsunade sipped her sake peacefully and finished reading._

"_Good morning, Tsu…" Sakura seethed for the fourth time._

_Tsunade's sake bottle flipped through the air and crashed into Sakura's forehead, knocking her out._

_Some time later…_

_Sakura sat up off the ground, dizzy and suffering from a terrible headache. She looked around and recognized the floor and walls of the Hokage office and slowly picked herself up off the ground._

"_I'm glad to see that sake bottle to the skull didn't do any permanent damage. The giant forehead of yours really comes in handy sometimes."_

_Sakura turned towards the voice and saw Tsunade sitting at her desk, still reading files as if nothing had happened, with a fresh bottle of sake._

"_Tsunade-sama, why did…"_

"_Sit." Tsunade interrupted and pointed a single finger towards an empty chair. Sakura looked at Tsunade strangely than sat down in the chair. She fiddled with the fringe of her skirt again nervously._

"_Do you know why you are here, Sakura?" Tsunade asked._

"_I'm here because you selected me as your new apprentice," Sakura answered immediately._

"_And why would I do that? Both Yamanaka Ino and Hyuuga Hinata show much more natural promise as field medics while you are perhaps the weakest Genin to have ever exited the academy."_

"_That's not true!" Sakura protested._

"_Isn't it? I've been going over your dossier all morning. You've taken part in around twenty missions of varying rank so far and in each and every one you did almost nothing more than take up space. Your involvement in D-Ranked missions are nearly negligent, during your mission to Nami no Kuni you did nothing but babysit Tazuna and cry over the Uchiha's supposed corpse, and during the Chunin exams you were barely able to defend yourself and fought to a draw against Ino. Yeah, that sounds like apprentice material to me; just brimming with achievement."_

_Sakura found herself paying extremely close attention to the pattern on the carpeted floor._

"_It was your mother's request to Danzo, probably spreading her legs for the teme too, that got your appointment, Sakura, along with Shizune being held hostage by Danzo," Tsunade reveled and grinned evilly at Sakura's shocked expression. "You didn't know that, did you? I wonder which part: the fact that my apprentice, my own niece, is being held and probably tortured to keep me in line until the Council can doctor up some loophole to have the daimyo replace me as Hokage; or that your mother is a bigger whore than every single woman in Icha Icha combined?"_

_Sakura had no reply; her mouth was dry, her throat tight, and her stomach a giant knot. She finally managed to whisper: "I had no idea."_

"_And why would you?" Tsunade raged, her temper finally getting the best of her. "Why would you know about anything that didn't revolve around you? You're nothing but a self-centered, little leech, Sakura."_

_Sakura trembled and shook in her seat. Tears welled up in her eyes and split down her cheeks. Tsunade's words sank in and Sakura felt her entire world splinter, shatter, and finally completely fall apart._

"_I—I really am worthless, aren't I?" she wailed. "I never really did anything myself; Sasuke-kun and Naruto-baka were always dragging me along and saving me. I couldn't even protect them during the Chunin Exams—Ino-pig's team and Lee had to save me!"_

_Tsunade did her best to keep her angry poker face. Things were going exactly as planned._

"_You know, come to think of it, I can't think of a single reason why I should teach you and not just arrange for a training "accident" in your near future."_

_Sakura whispered a reply, but her head was hung to low and her voice so quiet, Tsunade couldn't hear her._

"_What did you say?" Tsunade demanded. "Answer me like a woman, not a weak little bitch!"_

"_They left me," Sakura repeated, the storm of sadness becoming a flash flood of anger. She looked at Tsunade with blazing fire raging behind her tears. "Sasuke-kun, Naruto-baka, even Ino-Pig; they've all gotten so much stronger and I'm…I'm still the same weak, know-it-all bitch I was at the academy. I'm sorry about Shizune-san and I'm sorry my mother got me this appointment by fucking around rather than my own skills. But I'm done being weak. I WON'T BE LEFT BEHIND ANYMORE! I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ACADEMY, I WILL BE STRONGER THAN SASUKE-KUN AND NARUTO-BAKA! I'LL BRING MY TEAM BACK TOGETHER EVEN IF I HAVE TO DRAG THEM KICKING AND SCREAMING THE WHOLE WAY!"_

"_I'm slightly taken back. My plan all along was to break you down, make you see the truth. I never thought you'd actually respond with the one reply that would keep me from dropkicking you across Konoha," Tsunade smirked, remembering her own days as a Genin with Orochimaru and Jiraiya. There were too many similarities between her old team and the former Team Seven for Tsunade to ignore._

"_Does that mean you'll accept me as your apprentice?" Sakura asked._

"_Did you mean what you said? Because, once we start, there is no going back. You will be perfect in every way. I will push you until you break and then I will push you even more. You will be perfect, even better than me. If you're not, I will crush you beneath my heel and toast your demise. Understand?"_

"_Yes, Tsunade-sama. I won't fail you. I'm not afraid."_

_Tsunade smiled. "You will be. Come back tomorrow and we'll see how strong your will of fire truly burns."_

-X-

**Present Day**

"What's the matter, Naruto-baka? No doubt the years have changed me, but don't you recognize me?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded, still slightly taken back by Sakura's sudden appearance. Her hair was long again, pulled into pigtails like her master, and she was taller, nearly as tall as Naruto was. Her body was much more mature and lean with muscle; she wasn't as endowed as her master, but then again, no one could compete with Tsunade there. Sakura was dressed in a bright red top that left her arms bare and had the Haruno family circle on the back. Her legs were clad in a matching red mini-skirt with black shorts beneath. A bright pink obi, decorated with cherry blossoms, was tied around her waist and a pair of black gloves protected her hands. Two push daggers were sheathed alongside her medical and shuriken pouches.

Naruto noticed the musculature of Sakura's exposed arms and legs and assumed the girl had learned Tsunade's legendary gargantuan strength as well.

_I'll have to keep an eye out her that,_ he noted. "Um, as nice as it is to see you again Sakura, will someone tell me why I'm fighting a medic-nin in a Genjutsu test?" Naruto called out.

"Sakura has always been a natural Genjutsu type," Tsunade explained from the Hokage Box. "Kakashi just never bothered to teach her anything."

"With my perfect chakra control, not only did I study Tsunade-sama's taijutsu and medical skills, but I've learned much with Kurenai-sensei as well," Sakura boasted, her face grim and her eyes looked on Naruto.

_**Payback time for leaving me behind. Shannaro!"**_

"Genjutsu exam: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Haruno Sakura. Hajime!" Neko shouted and vanished from sight, taking a farther distance away so not to get swept up in any attacks.

Neither combatant moved; they just stared at each other. Moments passed with no action and, up in the catwalks, the spectators grew antsy.

"C'mon, get going!" Kiba yelled. "Run, talk, perform a jutsu, someone throw a pie for Kami's sake!"

"The baka has a point," Naruto muttered. "We can't stall forever; we might as well get this little reunion underway."

"Reunion? This is no reunion," Sakura growled. Killer intent and chakra spilled off the pinkette in waves; it was so menacing that Kyuubi even raised an eyebrow.

"What's her deal?" she whispered to Tsunade. "She and Naruto were always friends, weren't they?"

"In the last six years, Sakura has trained to the breaking point every day. She persisted through everything I put her through; even when I was being particularly cruel, she never complained or quit once," Tsunade explained. "She hates Naruto for leaving her, even if it wasn't his choice. She wishes to surpass him in all ways, Sasuke too. She would even destroy Naruto if he were to get in her way to bringing Sasuke back."

"Girl's got purpose. Misguided, but willful none the less," Kyuubi complimented. "She's more like Naruto that she thinks."

"Her will of fire isn't like Naruto's though. It's dark and driven purely by anger. She felt heartbroken when Sasuke left without her, but only felt rage when Naruto disappeared. Naruto was her rock, she thought he would never leave her behind, that his promise to bring Sasuke back bound him to her. This is Naruto's true test; Sakura has become the strongest of their generation and she won't hold back. She hates Naruto too much."

"Good."

"What do you mean, good?"

"Let's just say the feeling is mutual."

**-X-**

"So that's your intention, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, his emphasis on the honorific dripped with sarcasm. He flared his chakra just enough to match Sakura's. "That's fine by me."

"Take this: Ankoku-gai ryoko-sha no jutsu!" Sakura yelled and the arena burst into flames.

All the spectators on the catwalks and in the Hokage Box screamed in horrific pain as they were consumed by fire; Tsunade called out for Naruto just before her tongue burst in her mouth and she turned to ash. The floor shook and split apart, geysers of flame and molten rock burst around Naruto, the walls and ceiling cracked and boiling blood poured out of the fissures.

"Enjoy your stay in the underworld," Sakura smiled before she stepped into the growing lake of boiling blood. She screamed as body burned and melted away to nothing.

Naruto stood amidst the fires and blood, unfazed. "Not bad for a first try, the blood probably would've made Konohamaru shit himself," Naruto said. "I'll give you points for the excessive gore, but all that fire just reminds me of Ifrit-sensei's place." He made a handseal and shouted: "Kai!"

A pulse of Naruto's chakra spread across the area, wiping away Sakura's Genjutsu and restoring things back to normal. He turned and saw Sakura creeping up behind him, fist raised to punch him into next week.

"Aw, did I break your precious Genjutsu before you could sneak up on me?" Naruto mocked and leapt away.

"I should've known a demon like you would've felt at home in Hell," Sakura growled back. Sakura flashed through another trio of handsigns before stopping on Ram. "Sakura no Dengeki!"

A fierce wind swept across the ring as Sakura began to glow bright pink. The wind increased and Sakura's body, hair, and cloths began to break away in little pieces of pink light until not a trace of her remained, only a cloud of pink cherry blossom-like pieces whirling around Naruto. The cloud filled the entire ring, the blossoms flying randomly at first, but suddenly Naruto felt a sting cut into his left arm. The cut was shallow, but Naruto felt his fingertips go numb. He clutched the wound and pulled his cloak tighter around him.

"That won't help you," Sakura's voice giggled through the air. Sakura's head and bare torso appeared as a group of petals condensed in front of Naruto. "I've already severed your median nerve. Your arm is all but worthless until your demon heals you. But by then it will be too late."

Sakura's head and naked torso dissolved again. The blossoms whirled around Naruto and he felt more cuts against his body, limbs, and face. Fortunately, his armor and cloak repelled the worst of the attacks, but Naruto still bled from dozens of cuts and scratches.

"Zabuza had it wrong," Sakura's voice whispered through the wind. "There are so many points on the body that kill swiftly and silently. He never mentioned the thoracic aorta, fourth lumbar down the spine. It's a real gusher. The wrist arteries are steady bleeders, but they take too long for me."

Naruto felt a cut correspond with Sakura's words and was again glad for his dragon scale armor and mail.

"Cutting isn't really my style; it makes things too messy," Sakura said as the blossoms gathered together again. This time, instead of condensing into Sakura's head and chest, the blossoms became a giant hand.

"My favorite remains good ol' blunt force trauma. Shannaro!" Sakura's voice roared as the hand became a fist and rushed at Naruto. The fist hit Naruto in the chest and shot him across the ring. Naruto hit the ground, skipped like a stone, and crashed into the opposite wall. The fist of glittering blossoms followed and smashed into Naruto again. It reared back again and again until it drove Naruto halfway through the wall!

The fist finally stopped pounding Naruto after the tenth blow. Naruto fell out of the crater in the wall, what little of his face that was exposed by the mask was a mass of bloody bruises. The fist flickered and the blossoms became the naked Sakura again, not just her head and torso, but all her limbs as well. As she walked towards Naruto's broken body, light shimmered off the dancing blossoms, concealing Sakura's privates and giving her an even more beautiful appearance. She watched as Naruto slowly pulled himself off the ground, spat a glob of blood off to the side, and popped his shoulders back into alignment. His exposed face and arms were bloody from a dozen cuts and abrasions, all rapidly healing and fading away. Sakura knew that all the internal wounds she had caused were healing as well.

_Not that I care,_ she thought. _Just means I get to do it again!_

"You really are Baa-chan's student," Naruto said as he dusted himself off. "I don't know who hits harder: you, Baa-chan, or Titan-Sensei?"

"You should give up now, Naruto-baka," Sakura said, "or I'm going to stop holding back!"

"You do whatever you want, Haruno," Naruto said, his tone dark and serious. "This was at most a good trick, but it's already gotten old. Next time, you should try a technique that is a little less obvious, although I guess that if I had a forehead that could be seen from outer space I wouldn't bother being subtle either."

A tic mark appeared on Sakura's glowing forehead. "I'm going to kill you, baka!" she roared and shattered into a thousand shards of light. All the shards condensed back into a massive fist, twice as large as before, and streaked towards Naruto. Naruto twisted out of the way and dodged the giant fist. The fist came at Naruto again, faster and wilder, but Naruto dodged again and again. Finally, the fist floated high into the air and crashed down like a giant, pink hammer.

Naruto jumped away as the fist shattered the floor tiles. "My turn," Naruto smirked and closed his eyes in concentration. "Confu!" Golden twinkles of light appeared in the air and fluttered down to the ground like pixie dust, covering each and every glowing blossom.

Naruto jumped to the far side of the ring and crossed his arms over his chest. He watched as the fist of petals swirled and smashed randomly into the ring, the walls, and even the ceiling. And not one of the attacks was anywhere near Naruto!

"What the hell is going on?" Tsunade asked the smirking Kyuubi. "Sakura's gone wild!"

"Nah, she's just confused," Kyuubi replied, "probably a little berserk too, but that's from her own anger getting the better of her. Naruto just used a little spell on her, that's all."

Across the ring, the spectators in the catwalks came to their own conclusions.

"It's like watching a pink Lee on an alcoholic rampage," muttered Tenten as Sakura pounded the same spot three times in a row.

"Just what we need, another troublesome woman on a rampage," sighed Shikamaru.

"Yeah, well, Forehead is rampaging this way!" Ino yelled.

"Hit the deck!" shouted Lee as the pink fist smashed into the catwalk. The spectators scattered as the catwalk snapped in half and crumbled to the ground.

"Should I summon ANBU, Hokage-sama?" Neko asked after shunshining into the Hokage Box. "Sakura could destroy the entire building at this rate."

"That won't be necessary," Kyuubi said calmly. "She'll knock herself out soon." Neko and Tsunade looked at Kyuubi suspiciously, but quickly turned their attention back to the fight.

The petals began to flicker, dim, and then burn brighter as Sakura tore apart the ring. The petals scattered, condensed, and shifted rapidly, transforming from a fist to a wave of razor sharp shards to an arm or leg. Sakura's face emerged from the petals, a mask of anger and mad longing, and snapped at Naruto like an animal trying to bite its tormentor.

Sakura raced towards Naruto, hacking at the ground along the way. The petals became a giant fist and smashed into the ground in front of Naruto before it whirled in a tight circle and smashed into itself!

The petals scattered upon impact and fluttered, scattered, to the floor. With a pink glow, the petals vanished and Sakura, the real, fully dressed Sakura, appeared on the floor, out cold, a victim of her own superpowered punch.

Neko returned to the ring, checked Sakura's pulse, and said: "Winner by knockout, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto grinned as Kyuubi, Shizune, and the Rookies, minus Neji and Sakura (for obvious reasons) applauded loudly. Even Tsunade and the gathered Jounin had to nod their approval and clapped lightly; Kakashi even looked up from his book for a brief moment.

Meanwhile, Sakura stirred and slowly picked herself up off the ground, holding her limp right arm close to her body. She glared at Naruto and growled: "What did you do to me?"

"Just a little spell," Naruto smirked.

"You never dispelled my Genjutsu; how did you see through it?"

"It was a pure sensory Genjutsu; you were there the whole time, the petals just obscured your movements and scent. It was you punching and cutting me with your daggers, not the petals. It was a lot harder to detect you when you were using your push daggers, for a second I actually believed those petals were the ones slicing me up. If you hadn't been so proud and quick to want to bash my brains it, it would've been harder to figure out."

Sakura glared and glowered at Naruto, but didn't say anything.

"It was nice seeing you get a taste of your own medicine though," Naruto said with a small, mocking smile. "Getting punched in the head like that sucks, huh? Try getting hit like that every day for years and see how it feels. Maybe you should have gone around hitting Sasuke on the head instead; teme probably would've liked you more if he knew how strong you were."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again and stormed out of the ring, sulking off to heal herself.

_She may not be weak anymore, but she's still a bitch,_ Naruto thought.

Kyuubi, Shizune, and the remaining Rookies surrounded Naruto, smiling and laughing.

"Not bad," Kyuubi smiled and sent _For a human_ to Naruto through their link.

_You're just bored cuz you didn't get to play at all, _Naruto thought back.

_Too true. It's been such a long time since I got to, mmm, play,_ Kyuubi flirted back. Naruto quickly hid his blush as the others began clapping him on the back and congratulating him.

"You've become much stronger, Naruto," Shikamaru said. "It's nice to see you've stopped running around like an idiot in a fight and yelling all the time."

"And it's nice to see you're still lazy as hell, pineapple-head," Naruto returned with a grin.

"Yosh! You must spar with me so I may experience firsthand your new Taijutsu techniques!" Lee requested at full volume.

"No way, Naruto promised to show me his sword!" yelled Tenten.

"All of you be quiet!" Shizune yelled over everyone. "Naruto's not going anywhere until he's been healed and Tsunade-sama gives him his evaluation. Now get over here Naruto-kun so I can make sure you're not too badly hurt."

"Aw, c'mon Zune-chan, you know I'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Don't argue with your doctor, Naruto," Shizune scowlded and gave him her fiercest "Doctor-knows-best-now-move-it-before-I-maim-you-in-one-of-the-countless-ways-only-doctors-know-about" look. Naruto paled and sighed, but let Shizune check over his already healing wounds.

Meanwhile, Tsunade stood in a small huddle with the rest of the Jonin, discussing Naruto's performance. After a few minutes, the meeting ended and the group approached Naruto just as Shizune finished her examination.

"Bravo, gaki," Tsunade smiled like a proud parent. "Seems you were able to learn a thing or two during your six year vacation. Based on the skills demonstrated and those not seen here," Tsunade added with a wink, "you are hereby promoted to the rank of Special Jonin."

Naruto's smiled threatened to spilt his face in two. "That's because they wouldn't let you call me a Kage."

"Don't get fresh, gaki, I can still pound you into toothpaste if I wanted," Tsunade scowled. "I am also reinstating Team 7 as an active Four-Man Squad under Kakashi."

"Wait, who's gonna be our fourth man?" Naruto wondered.

"I am. And if you ever refer to me as a man again, I'll feed you to the squirrels," Kyuubi said in a scary, sweet voice and flicked Naruto on the nose. Everyone laughed, not realizing the fact that Kyuubi had A) made that threat before and B) could really do it if she wanted to.

Soon, everyone began to file out of the ring. Lee and Shikamaru helped the still sore Tenten and Choji home while Kiba's sister and her trio of dogs helped Akumaru and him home. Shino headed home by himself and the Jonin all shunshined away to do whatever they do, leaving Naruto, Ino, Shizune, Tsunade, and Kyuubi in the ring.

"Umm, Asher-san?" Ino said, fidgeting and playing with the hem of her skirt, looking everywhere but at Kyuubi.

"Yes?"

"You're…You're really the Kyuubi-No-Yoko, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," Kyuubi answered with a straight and serious face. Ino turned as pale as her hair and fell to the ground.

"Please, please, please don't kill me!" she wailed and kowtowed before the tailed beast. "I didn't mean what I said yesterday afternoon, if I knew you were the Kyuubi I never would have said you were a monster or anything!"

Kyuubi bristled slightly. "You mean you never would have called me a monster to my face?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" Ino cried. "I—my father told me about what happened six years ago when he entered Naruto's mind. He told me how you attacked him and cast him out of Naruto effortlessly. I guess, I guess I was scared."

"It is wise to fear things beyond your station in life," Kyuubi said and lightly pressed a claw against Ino's cheek. "And if you must know, your father attacked me first out of fear. In his defense, I really wasn't myself at the time," Kyuubi mentioned, remembering her rage under Uchiha Madara's control. "I—I understand your actions, child. I have done horrible things to this village and deserve much of your hatred. I seek to make amends to Naruto for the endless grief I've caused him and will atone for the damage I've caused to Konoha. If you wish, I am willing to forget about what happened yesterday and start over."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Ino shouted jubilantly. "I would love that! Where are you guys staying? Has Naruto shown you all the shops in Konoha? Oh, Kami, of course he hasn't. I so need to take you shopping!"

"You better be careful, Kyu-chan. Ino is a SSS-Ranked shopper," Tsunade chuckled. "She'll put you in a new wardrobe in under an hour."

"I'm sure I could show her a thing or two," Kyuubi grinned. "After all, I did put quite a dent in Lindblum's Business District, except for eating one of those damn pickles."

The group headed out of the arena and walked towards downtown Konoha, Naruto's growling stomach leading the way to Ichiraku's. They were nearly there when Asuma and Kurenai appeared in front of them with an entire squad of ANBU beside them. The ANBU quickly took up defensive positions around Tsunade.

"What's going on?" Tsunade demanded.

"Tsunade-sama! There's a mob marching toward the Hokage Tower," Asuma said. "They are demanding that Naruto and Kyuubi be turned over to them for immediate execution!"

"The Civilian Council is also demanding the release of Homura, Koharu, and Hiashi as well," reported Kurenai.

"Bastards have gone too far this time," Tsunade growled behind grit teeth. "I think it's high time they remembered just who the Hokage is around here."

"Hold on, Baa-chan. I've got a idea," Naruto smiled. Tsunade's breath stopped in her throat when she looked at Naruto. His grin was wide and full, his teeth slightly fanged, but it never reached his eyes. Those icy blue eyes burned with a mad fire that promised a level of torment that no one had ever seen before.

"What do you have in mind?" Shizune asked, also taken back by Naruto's look.

"You'll see," Naruto said and shunshined to the Hokage Tower, Kyuubi in tow. The others looked at each other in panic and disappeared after him.

Naruto arrived on the Tower roof just as the mob reached the base of the tower. It was a huge mob, a full riot of civilians with many shinobi mixed in throughout. Naruto recognized Haruno Misaki, Sakura's mother, at the head of the mob and saw every other member of the Civilian Council marching towards the Tower.

"GIVE US THE DEMON BOY!" the mob roared. "KILL IT! JUSTICE FOR OUR FAMILIES! REVENGE FOR THE YONDAIME! DEATH TO THE DEMON AND HIS WHORE!"

"What are you going to do, gaki," Tsunade asked as the rest of the group shunshined onto the roof behind Naruto and Kyuubi.

"They want my head, I'm going to give them their chance," Naruto replied. "Are you ready Kyu-chan?"

Kyuubi answered with a fangy smile and the flexing of her claws. She burst into a column of fire and returned to the seal. Naruto felt his muscles swell with the power surge and gave the others a quick smile.

"You all may want to stand back," Naruto said and jumped off the roof. He flipped twice and landed directly in front of the mob. Those at the front of the mob jumped back; suddenly being in front of the object of their hatred filled them with fear. They pressed into each other and gave Naruto nearly ten yards of space.

"Well, here I am," Naruto said simply. He pulled down his mask, opened his hands, and stepped towards the mob, gesturing that he held no weapons. The mob shrank back even farther with every step Naruto took towards them. "What's the matter? What happened to 'KILL IT?' and 'DEATH TO THE DEMON AND HIS WHORE?' Hmm? What happened to all that bravado and bloodthirstiness? All I see now are a bunch of whiny pussies blinded by hate and petty jealousy."

"How dare you speak to us like that, demon?" Haruno Misaki yelled. "Demon's like you should be licking our boot heels in thanks for us allowing you to exist at all! You are our tool, our sacrifice to use as we see fit."

"You make it sound like I signed up for this," Naruto growled and punched the seal on his stomach. "For years I cursed what I am; but six years ago I realized that I'm better off being a jinchūriki. It could be much worse, I could be like one of you."

"Enough! Surround him, there's only one of him! Even with his unholy powers, he's no match for all of us!" a Chunin shouted from within the crowd.

"Go for it!" Naruto laughed. "Here's a newsflash idiots: not even the Yondaime could stop Kyuubi! What chance in hell do you think you weaklings have?"

The crowd shifted nervously, Naruto's words echoing in their heads. Many glanced towards the Hokage Monument and gazed at the head of their greatest hero.

"But you aren't worth it," Naruto smirked. "I don't waste my energy or power on petty weaklings. So here's your one chance: pack your shit, go home, and don't ever pull this crap again."

The crowd milled nervously; several people in the back started to sneak away when Misaki yelled out.

"Lies! All demon lies! If he was so powerful, why did he fail to bring back Uchiha Sasuke? Why did he run from our hunter-nin for six years? Why did he need the Hokage's help to overthrow the Council? He needs to be destroyed!" she roared and threw a kunai at Naruto. The blade nicked his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood, but Naruto didn't move. The wound healed almost instantly, thanks to Kyuubi's presence in the seal. The rapid healing was quickly spotted by Misaki and she was eager to point it out.

"Look how the demon defends it! It mocks us by healing just as it mocks us by resembling the Yondaime! The demon must be brought back under our control, not that Hokage cow! We're the ones whose lives it destroyed, not hers!"

Up on the roof, it took all Jiraiya, Shizune, and Ino had to hold Tsunade back from smashing Misaki into paste.

"Let me go! I'll show that flat whore who is the boss around here!" she snarled.

"Naruto said to stay back, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune replied.

"Listen to us, Tsunade!" Jiraiya pleaded. "Look down at Naruto, can't you feel the chakra pouring off him!"

Tsunade stopped struggling and looked down at Naruto. Red chakra poured off the teen in smoky waves, gliding across the ground and filling the space between him and the mob.

"Fools," he snarled. His fingers became claws and his teeth grew into fangs. Naruto's eyes turned red and his pupils slits. "You brought this on yourselves."

Naruto slammed his palms together and bowed his head. "Echoing Thunder; Pierce the Skies—Ramuh!"

Naruto's chakra rocketed into the sky above him and sliced into the clouds. The clouds turned black and thunder rumbled overhead. Rain burst from what had been clear skies only a moment ago. Lighting danced between the clouds, gathering into the largest one. The cloud hovered high above Naruto, growing larger and larger, its black mass cackling with lightning. With a boom of thunder so loud it rattled windows on the far side of Konoha, a massive bolt of white lightning crashed onto Naruto!

The blast was blinding and those at the front of the mob screamed in pain and clutched their eyes. Even up on the roof of the Tower, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Ino had to turn away from the blast.

The light faded and Naruto emerged, uninjured by the lightning, but changed. He was dressed in a white pair of baggy pants and an open white vest. His feet were bare and a group of gold bracelets dangled from his wrists. His hair was lighter in color, almost white instead of sunny blonde, and longer, straighter. Naruto's eyes were the shadowy blue of the sky just after a storm.

"You should be grateful I chose Ramuh-jiji's avatar and not Ifrit-sensei's," Naruto said. His voice was much deeper and wiser sounding than before, like distant thunder. "Judgment Staff!"

A thin bolt of lightning crashed into Naruto's outstretched hand and transformed into a large, crooked staff with an ornately shaped head. A red jewel sat in the center of the staff's head like an eye, glowing with power.

"Be fortunate that you are not being judged this day; that this is the extent of my leniency," Naruto boomed and slammed the butt of the staff onto the ground. Lightning danced across the ground, splintering out in an electrified spider web until it enclosed the entire mob. The lightning touched every member of the mob, dancing into their feet and traveling into their brains. The effects were instantaneous.

The mob let out a collective moan of bliss. Hands dove beneath belts and pants and up skirts as each and every person touched by lightning fell to the ground. They gyrated and moaned and finally seized in ecstasy before passing out from the pleasure. The smell of sex in the air was thick and heavy.

Naruto clapped the butt of his staff on the ground again and a new lightning bolt crashed down on him. When it dissipated, he was restored back to normal. Kyuubi reappeared next to him in a burst of bright flame and did not look pleased.

"What did I say about you using perverted attacks?" she growled and slapped Naruto across the back of his head.

"Aw, c'mon, Kyu-chan. You gotta admit, it worked great and killing all of them would have been a big pain in the ass."

"I suppose it was somewhat amusing," Kyuubi smiled and suddenly swooned as the scent of sex assaulted her sharp senses. "Ooh-mmm, is it hot out here? Naruto-kun, let's go cool off," she winked and crooked a finger at Naruto. Naruto blushed brightly and pulled up his mask as Tsunade, Shizune, and Ino leapt off the Tower roof and landed beside him.

"What the hell did you do, gaki?" Tsunade asked angrily.

"What was that lightning?" Shizune wondered.

"What's that smell?" Ino asked, glassy eyed and flustered.

"I used a little trick I learned from Ramuh-jiji to overload the pleasure centers in everyone's brain. They just had the greatest sexual experience of their lives and should wake up in about an hour, wanting a cigarette and feeling much better about life in general," Naruto replied.

"Ramuh, the mythical Esper of wisdom and lightning, taught you that?" Tsunade looked skeptical.

"Well, not exactly," Naruto grinned.

"The real attack is called Gyoretsu boruto and its designed to destroy or alter the targets nervous and sensory systems," Kyuubi explained. "Like your famous Ranshinsho, it alters what the target feels, sees, and does. Since everything people experience is merely an electrical signal interpreted by the brain, the attack is one hundred percent genuine to the target."

"Basically, I can make your heart stop or make you see nothing but blue kaiju with the same attack," Naruto grinned proudly.

"Or turn it into the single greatest perverted jutsu I've ever seen," Tsunade muttered. "Jiraiya would be so proud."

"Perverted or not, that was pretty awesome," Ino laughed. "You definitely showed them."

"Eh, they'll be back to bitching about me within a day or two; they just don't realize how easy it would be to sink to their level and do something permanent," Naruto said gravely.

"But that's not who you are," Shizune said and placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're a good young man, Naruto-kun. Don't ever forget that."

"Thanks Zune-chan."

"Alright, now that that is all over, will someone please get this filth off my front doorstep," Tsunade said and snapped her fingers. ANBU appeared and looked around at the downed mob.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Clean up this mess," Tsunade ordered and curled her lips in disgust at the sight of the pleasantly smiling Misaki. "You might want to use gloves; I don't want any of you catching something." The ANBU set to the task without complaint, although one in a Seal mask gave Tsunade a sour look when he had to pick up a heavyset merchant with stained pants.

Meanwhile, Ino said her goodbyes and set a girl's day date with Kyuubi to go shopping. Tsunade and Shizune returned to Tsunade's office, Tsunade already complaining about having to catch up on paperwork and damning Naruto for throwing all of Konoha into an uproar in only a single day.

Naruto and Kyuubi walked through the placated mob, happily stepping on those in their path. No one stirred, not even when Kyuubi dug her heel into the groin of a particularly disgusting looking civilian; the man just moaned and smiled lecherously in his sleep.

"I think you did too good a job, Naruto," Kyuubi said. "It's one thing to disable them, but this is a little much. You didn't have to give them pure pleasure you know. You could have made them all shit themselves or something equally embarrassing."

"They'd be angrier if I did that," Naruto reasoned. "You know how these people are, Kyu-chan. All they see is themselves. They are blinded by money or their own buried pain; they don't want to see anything else because it would hurt too much to change now."

"One day, they'll see us and the truth. And maybe, just maybe, if they do it soon enough, I won't eat them," Kyuubi said with a toothy smile.

"C'mon Kyu-chan, you shouldn't joke about stuff like that. You know fatty foods give you indigestion."

Naruto and Kyuubi continued to laugh as they walked down the streets of Konoha, not paying more than a passing glance as to where they were or where they were going. Dusk began to settle as the sun slowly dipped behind the Hokage Monument and the pair slowly headed towards Training Ground 44 and the camp they had set up the night before in the "Forest of Death."

The pair reached the entrance to the Training Grounds when Kyuubi paused. She sniffed the air and turned around. Naruto took notice and his hands instinctively fell towards his daggers. He looked over his shoulder and stared, his right hand fell limp to his side, and his left pulled down his mask.

"Hello, Hinata-chan," he smiled softly.

"Hello, Nar-Naruto-kun."

**-X-**

**Technique List**

_Sōshōryū_—Twin Rising Dragons!

_Ikorose, Murasaki!_—Shoot to Kill, Violet!—Tenten's sword glows purple and lengthens with lightning speed, piercing through the target.

_Octaslash_—a swift sequence of sword slashes, though not always comprised of eight hits. Made famous by Sephiroth.

_Bubun Baika no Jutsu!_—Partial Multi-Size Technique!

_Baika no Jutsu!_—Multi-Size Technique!

_Nikudan Sensha!_—Human Bullet Tank!

_Juujin Bushin!_—Beast Human Clone!

_Shikyaku no Jutsu!_—Four Legs Technique

_Katon:Gatsuuga!_—Fire Style: Fang over Fang

_Quake_—Earth Elemental Magic

_Jinjuu Konbi Henge: Sotoro!_—Human Beast Combination Transformation: Double Headed Wolf

_Katon: Garoga!_—Fire Style: Fang Wolf Fang!

_Aero_—Wind Elemental Magic

_Ankoku-gai ryoko-sha no jutsu!_—Underworld Traveler Technique!—Genjutsu were the environment is transformed into Hell, complete with hellfire and all the accompanying horrors.

_Sakura no Dengeki!_—Cherry Blossom Blitz!—Sakura bursts into a cloud of cherry blossom petals and assaults her opponent using the blossoms as cover.

_Confu!_—status effect spell, target becomes confused and is unable to distinguish friend from foe and often will target oneself by mistake.

_Gyoretsu boruto_—Matrix Bolt—lightning that travels into target's brain and overloads the nervous system. Naruto can target any part of the brain, making the target experience, feel, see, do, etc whatever he chooses. Since all anyone experiences is an electrical signal interpreted by the brain, the attack is one hundred percent genuine.

_Ranshinsho_—Nervous system rupture

**Author's Note:**

**Well, it's been a long time since I worked on Espers, but I think the wait was worth it. I hope you all liked Naruto's tests. I know it's something that is done in like 99% of all fics at one point or another, but I really didn't know how else to A) showcase Naruto's new skills and B) show how the rest of the Rookies had progressed in six years. I hope you all enjoyed the fights with Kiba, Choji, and Tenten. I particularly liked the additions to Kiba's attacks—a fiery Garoga is just too cool—and bonus points for whoever can guess where I got Tenten's new sword from.**

**Sakura. Well, I'm not going to say anything about her yet. I kind of want to see your reactions to her first before I reveal what I have in mind.**

**And I'm not going to lie, I had a lot of fun writing the scene where Naruto confronted the mob of villagers. I got the idea from a New X-Men comic when Emma Frost gave a group of protestors and reporters telepathically induced orgasms. And it's not a proper Naruto fic without at least one perverted jutsu! **

**Let me know what your thoughts are on the new chapter and hit me up with any ideas of things I should try or things you'd like to see/things I can do better. **

**Next time on Naruto: Rise of the Espers…**

"**Hinata's Pain; Danzo's Rage!"**


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